Unforgettable
by Amethyst Dragon
Summary: Two years ago, Rikku's world was torn apart. Her greatest battle is yet to come, however. Could she ever truly love him again? GippalxRikku. Chapter 17 FINALLY up.
1. Besaid

A/N: I know this idea isn't very original, but I wanted to explore it a little anyway. I would love to hear any comments or criticism in a review. Hope you enjoy my story :)

Disclaimer: I do not own FFX-2, or any of its characters. Rei is the only character I claim ownership to. 

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The sun filtered in through the door of my home, shining brightly onto my face. I squinted as I slowly opened my eyes, adjusting to the light.

I really should move my bed to a different place.

Yawning, I tried to obtain enough energy to crawl out of bed. After a couple more yawns, I decide that it wouldn't hurt to lay there for just a little bit longer. I really shouldn't have been that tired, but raising a hyper two year old takes its toll, even on me.

I just began to enjoy the bliss of my warm bed again when I heard a voice call from my door.

"Come on Rikku, get up! You can't just lay there all day!" Yuna's cheerful voice flooded the room. I make a grumbling noise and shove my face into my pillow. Sweet, sweet pillow.

"Go away, Yunie." I mumbled.

"What was that? I couldn't understand you," she laughed, and started to grab my arm to pull me up. "It's such a gorgeous day, Rikku!"

I slowly complied, although I grumbled my protest. "Yunie," I yawned, " you really shouldn't be lifting anything heavy. You know that."

Yuna only smiled. She is expecting her first child in only two months. "You sound like Tidus, you know that? You worry too much."

"I'm just watching out for my favorite cousin." We both laughed, and I stood up and hugged her the best I could. "So, what are your plans for today?"

"I was going to visit Wakka and Lulu for a while, then I was thinking about walking to the beach. You should come with me. We can bring Vidina along, and give Lulu a break for a while. I'm sure Rei would be bored out of her mind without him."

It was true. My little Rei was nearly three years younger than Vidina, but they were the best of friends. They were both wild, energetic, and adventurous. You couldn't separate those two if you tried. "Sounds great," I replied, "just give me a few minutes to get ready."

"All right!" Yuna smiled and walked happily outside of my house. Well, it actually resembled more of a tent, but it was my little version of home on Besaid. It was enough for me and my daughter, and that's all that mattered.

You know, if someone would have told me three years ago that I would end up living here I would probably have died of laughter. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore some of the people here. It's just... it never really seemed like my type of place. I never could tell you why. I mean, it's so beautiful here... so peaceful and quiet. So not me. It just never really seemed like home, you know?

I crossed over to a mirror on the other side of the room and straightened out my hair. It was still long, although not nearly as much as two years before. I still wore braids in my hair sometimes, though. It was kind of knotty and tangled from sleeping, so I grabbed the brush and ran it through my hair a few times. After I finished, I sat it down on a table and sighed.

For some reason, I just sat there and stared at my reflection for a while. I looked so much different than I used to. It had been about four years since Vegnagun, and I had aged so much. My boundless energy just didn't seem to be there anymore, and I didn't smile as much.

I didn't understand what was wrong with me. I mean, my life in Besaid was more than I could ask for. I had wonderful friends, a wonderful home, and a beautiful daughter. Don't get me wrong... I love them all so much... it's just, sometimes... I felt like there was something missing.

I bit my lip.

It's been two years, Rikku. You should be over him by now. It's better this way.

I could feel the tears start to well up in my eyes, but I pushed them back. Ugh... why couldn't I forget him?

"Rikku? You OK?" I was broken out of my trance by Yuna's voice, and I quickly wiped my eyes. I hadn't realized that I was taking so long.

"Yeah. I'm done." Sighing quietly, I closed my eyes for a moment so I could recompose myself. When I was done, I walked out into the bright sunshine, where Yuna was waiting for me.

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"I'm soooo bored, daddy. There's nothing to do," five year old Vidina complained.

"Well... I could tell you a story." Wakka replied, sitting back into a chair.

Vidina's bright eyes lit up. "Oh, could you tell us a story about when you defeated Sin?"

Lulu frowned. "I don't think that's a good story for them."

"Oh, come on Lu, lighten up!" Wakka smiled and ruffled Vidina's wild red hair, making him grin. "What harm could it do?"

Lulu gave Wakka an icy look that told him not to press the matter.

Wakka sighed. "I'm sorry, kiddo. Maybe you and Rei can go play."

"Actually, we were taking them to the beach today. You guys want to go now?" Yuna smiled.

"Yeah! Beach!" Rei jumped up and smiled wildly, her short hair bouncing. Vidina grabbed her hand and they ran out the door.

I sighed. "Well, guess that means we better get going."

"Okay. You guys have a good time, ya?"

"Thanks. We will." Yuna smiled gently and we walked outside to meet the sunshine.

Vidina and Rei were far ahead of us, but we weren't worried. They knew their way and there hadn't been any really dangerous fiends on the island in a long time.

I felt the warm sand slide beneath my toes on the path, and I sighed quietly as we walked to the beach in silence. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me.

"Rikku... there's something I think you should know."

Yuna startled me out of my little trance. She sounded a little apprehensive. It scared me.

"Some men came in yesterday on the last ship. They had news." she looked at me, and smiled in her reassuring sort of way. "Rikku, they're done rebuilding Home."

I stopped in my tracks, my mouth open. They were done... already? They had been telling everyone it would take at least another few months.

"Yuna... that's amazing." I was being overwhelmed with a flood of emotions. Surprise, amazement, happiness... and fear.

I looked up to see Rei and Vidina running and splashing through the shallow water, chasing after an imaginary fiend. Their laughter filled the air.

"Rikku... I know what you're thinking." Yuna almost whispered. "But you should go anyway. You've waited so long for this, and I know you want to see Home again. I know you want Rei to see it, more than anything."

"Yunie... I can't. He'll be there, I know it. I just can't." I stared at the ground, my eyes unmoving.

"Rikku... you need to do this. Not just for yourself, but for Rei." Yuna moved in front of me and grabbed my shoulders. "Look at me, Rikku." My eyes slowly moved up to meet hers, tears threatening to fall. "Don't you think Rei deserves to see Home?"

I looked over to where Rei was playing. She was waving a stick at a pile of dirt like it was a sword, copying Vidina's actions. They were battling another pretend fiend. Her wild blonde hair was blowing in the breeze, her bright green eyes flashing with delight. I never could tame that hair. She was so adventurous and carefree, wild and full of laughter. _She was so like him_.

I choked back a sob. "Yes." I didn't understand. This was so unlike me.

"Rikku... I think it's time that he knew. You can't hide this forever."

I had always known it would come. The day that I would face Gippal, leader of the Machine Faction, if that's what he even was now. I stopped watching the news a long time ago. No matter what he was, though, it was about time he knew about his daughter. That meant, however, that I would have to face him again. It would be the first time since that day three years ago. The day he broke my heart and the world as I had known it been torn apart.

But even though I knew, it didn't make it hurt any less.

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So there I was two days later, bags packed and ready to leave on the ship that would carry me to the last place I wanted to be. Rei's little hand was clutching tightly to my own, and I could tell she was both nervous and excited. She had never left Besaid before. I think I was more nervous than she was, though. It was pathetic. I had saved the world twice, faced unimaginable danger and here I was shaking like a baby because I was scared. I guess battling great fiends was one thing; facing the family you left behind is another- especially when it's my family. Not only did I have to face Gippal, but my father and brother as well. I had talked to them maybe twice in three years, and I felt really guilty about not seeing them. There's no reason I should have deserted them.

Yuna placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, and I turned around to see her and Tidus, plus Wakka, Lulu, and Vidina. They came to say goodbye, even though I was only going to be gone a few weeks, if everything went liked I hoped it would. I smiled at them. This was my family.

After a few hugs and words of encouragement, Rei and I stepped onto the ship as it got ready to leave. I held Rei in my arms so she could wave to everybody as we left. Before I knew it we were out at sea, and Besaid was only a strip of brown in the distance. Rei played on deck with her stuffed bear Datto, and I smiled as I watched her.

I really had no idea how I was going to tell him. I mean, how do you tell someone that they have a daughter.... and that you've kept it a secret for two years? The more I thought about it, the more terrified I was. I knew Gippal would be absolutely furious, and he had every right to be. I could only hope that he could look past his anger and find it inside of him to show a little bit of kindness towards Rei. He didn't have to pretend to be a father, and I wasn't planning on telling Rei anytime soon. It's not like we were staying, and I couldn't break her little heart like that.

I kept telling myself everything was going to be fine. It's not like I had to spend the entire three weeks with Gippal. I just had to give him the news and let him take it as he wanted. Then, after visiting my family for a while, I could go back to Besaid and hopefully hear as little of Gippal as possible so I could finally move on with my life.

The ocean breeze twirled through my hair, and I realized how much I missed traveling. So much had changed. I had to settle down after Rei was born, which meant no more adventuring. I felt like I was rediscovering a part of myself I hadn't seen in a while.

For the first time that day, I began to feel like everything would be fine. It might actually just work out, and it would probably do me good to get away from Besaid for a little while anyway.

The sun shined on my face, and I tilted my head up and closed my eyes. The sound of the sea filled my ears, and I laughed.

I was going home.


	2. Going Home

A/N: A huge thank you and big hugs to everyone who's reviewed so far! Hopefully this chapter won't disappoint you.

To rikkufan: Your question will be answered in this chapter :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing FFX-2 related- so bleh. . 

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The strong wind was causing sand to blow all around, making it hard to see much of anything. I squinted my eyes and sighed. I was seven years old and lost in the humungous desert that surrounded Home. I was familiar with the terrain, but the sandstorm made it nearly impossible to decipher where I was. Being a stubborn kid, I refused to call out for help. Not that it would do much good anyway, but I figured if I were to ever be a brave adventurer I had to do this myself. It was just a stupid sandstorm, anyway. Nothing I couldn't handle.

I walked and walked and walked and it seemed like I was never going to find my way home. Tired, I collapsed on my knees and closed my eyes. My long hair whipped around my face and I just sat there, feeling defeated. Tears rolled down my cheeks and I couldn't stop them from coming.

I was lost, I was scared, and I was completely alone.

I must have sat there for about fifteen minutes like that before I finally found a sign of life. It was a voice, yelling and cursing into the wind. Curious, I turned around and yelled something back. The other person stopped cursing, and they started walking in my direction. They got only a few feet in front of me before I could really see them.

It was a boy, about nine or ten years old. His spiky blonde hair moved wildly in the wind, and he looked at me curiously with one bright, green eye. He had a patch on the other one. He was pretty dirty, and I had to keep myself from laughing because I thought he was really funny looking.

"And who are you?" He sounded like he thought he was really important or something.

"I should be asking you that." I said, trying to sound important too.

"You shouldn't be out here in this. What are you doing out here?"

"I was playing and I... um..."

"You got lost. You must be pretty stupid to get lost so close to Home."

I wanted to cry, but I couldn't seem like I was just a weak, lost little girl. I put on my best mean face. "If I'm stupid that mean's you're stupid cause you're out here too."

"No it doesn't because I'm not lost. I'm looking for a machina part that I left out here today. Have you seen anything?"

"If I did, why would I tell you?"

He frowned, apparently frustrated with me. "Why am I even wasting my time talking to a stupid little girl like you?"

"I'm not little, I'm seven."

He just laughed at me. "You sure are somethin'. The name's Gippal. Remember it, cause I'm gonna be famous someday."

"My name's Rikku, and I'm gonna be famous someday too."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow, grinning. "Famous for what?"

"I want to go on adventures and explore places and defeat fiends. And I'm going to make lots of cool machina too! I'll be the best, just like my dad!"

"Who's your dad?"

"Cid."

Gippal's eye grew wide. "Cid is your dad?"

"Yup." I don't think my smile could have been any bigger.

Gippal just started laughing uncontrollably. Apparently he did not believe me. "How could a stupid looking girl like you be Cid's kid?"

I was growing really angry with him. I scowled and kicked a pile of sand. Unfortunately, the wind brought it right up into my face, which only caused Gippal to laugh even harder and cause me to get angrier.

What was wrong with this kid?

"You're not very nice," I said, still coughing up sand.

Gippal just gave me a cocky grin. "I should get going. Nice meetin' ya, Cid's girl."

"I have a name!" I yelled into the wind, but Gippal's back was already turned and he was walking away, laughing. My hands balled into fists at my sides, and I stuck my tongue out at him. What was wrong with him?

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Everything was black, but I could feel myself slowly coming back to consciousness. Slowly, I opened my eyes to see the wood planks of the ship wall. Yawning, I turned over gently in my small bed as not to wake up the little angel sleeping by my side. I was surprised she had not woken yet. She was probably tired from all the excitement of yesterday... and the fact that the sun had barely even risen. Ugh.

For a while I just laid there, thinking about my dream and watching Rei sleep. The dream was my first meeting with Gippal, back in Home when I was only seven years old. _Seven_. 

It seemed so distant, but I could remember everything. It was probably one of the few things I do remember about being seven years old. After our encounter, I did eventually make it home to one angry dad, but I was fine. Several years later, when I was about eleven, I would meet Gippal again. Strangely, we actually remembered each other, and you can imagine how surprised he was to find that I really was Cid's daughter. Anyway, he was a sort of apprentice for some guys dad worked with, and he eventually worked with him on a few things. Cid, of course, thought he was some kind of young machina genius. He worked on and off with him for a few years before Gippal just kind of left. That was probably around when he did the whole Crimson Squad thing. The next time I saw him was in Djose when we were signing up for the dig. Turns out he did get his fame by becoming the Machine Faction leader.

I think when we saw each other in Djose was the first time we really noticed each other. I mean, we were friends for a while, but Djose was the first time we had seen each other in about three years- and let's just say that both of us did a little bit of, um, "growing up" in that time, if you know what I mean. Gippal was no longer the skinny, awkward looking young teenager. He had grown into, well, a pretty attractive guy.

My thoughts were disturbed by Rei moving next to me. I watched her slowly open her eyes, then rub them and yawn.

"Morning, sunshine." I smiled and ruffled her hair, causing her to giggle.

"Morning, mommy." She sat up on the bed, her bright green eyes moving over towards the door. "It's dark outside."

"That's because the sun isn't up all the way. Do you want to watch it rise?"

"Okay." I could tell she was still a little bit sleepy because she kept yawning. She took my hand and we quietly walked up some stairs and onto the ship's deck. It was slightly cool outside, but not uncomfortably so. I picked Rei up in my arms, and walked over to the edge of the deck. The sun was just barely rising, and sparkles of orange light danced across the ocean. Rei's bright eyes grew wide at the sight. "It's soooo pretty!" She told me, clutching her bear Datto to her chest. We watched the sunrise together, my mind far away from everything that was bothering me.

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It was late afternoon when the first stretch of land began to appear on the horizon. We made a stop in Luca, which Rei thoroughly enjoyed. She couldn't get enough of the city. I took her to the Luca Stadium, and we watched some blitzball players practicing for the upcoming season. The only blitzball she had ever seen was "Uncle Tidus" coaching the Besaid Aurochs. She liked watching them, but it was nothing compared to sitting in an actual stadium. Rei was so enthralled that she professed she was going to be the world's "bestest blitzball player ever", and that when we got back to Besaid she was going to make Uncle Tidus teach her how to play so she could be as good as him.

After spending a nice afternoon in Luca, Rei was heartbroken when we had to return to the ship. It was another couple of days before we got to land again, and we still had a long travel across land in order to get to Home. By the time we reached Sanubia desert, Rei was nearly going out of her mind. I don't blame her. A good thing, though, was that they had hovers at the edge of Sanubia, and it wasn't as deserted as I remembered it. There were other Al Bhed traveling with us, and I just then realized that the celebration was going to be tomorrow. There was going to be a huge party, and it was certain that pretty much every Al Bhed in all of Spira was going to be there.

At this point, I was beginning to get really frightened. Gippal had absolutely no idea that I was coming, although my family did. I wrote to them the day I knew I was going, and they were supposed to meet me when I got there. I wasn't really looking forward to that either, but I guess it would be nice to be back with my family again... if they still wanted me, that is.

Adorable little Rei was having the time of her life in the hover. It made me feel bad that I had so much going on in my mind that I really wasn't paying that much attention to her. This was her first time experiencing all these Al Bhed things, and she was going to be visiting her homeland for the first time. I should be relishing this time with her, it was such an important thing in her life.

I could only smile weakly at her as she pointed at the city appearing on the horizon, her eyes full of excitement. I was happy to be going Home... but as my nervousness grew a part of me really wished I had remained in Besaid.

I don't think I had ever been so scared in my life.

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After the defeat of Vegnagun, I was thrown back into the whole "making public appearances thing." I went through it after Sin's defeat, and it was no different this time. I basically had to accompany Yuna and everybody else involved to parties in Bevelle, Luca, and pretty much everywhere else in Spira. I think Yuna was a lot happier this time around because she had Tidus. This left me with pretty much nobody I wanted to hang out with. Every event was the same; Yuna makes a heartwarming speech, people start drinking, I attempt to socialize but always end up feeling bored and lonely, sitting at a table by myself. Gippal came to a few of the parties, but we never exchanged more than a few words.

After all of the celebrations and publicity had died down, everyone seemed to know where they were going. Tidus and Yuna went back to Besaid, Paine did her own traveling, and so on. I didn't know what to do with myself. It seemed like everyone knew where they were going except for me. I felt like the lost little girl again.

Not knowing what to do, I decided to return to my family for a while. I guess it was the only place I had to go. I didn't like staying there much... it felt like I was always arguing with somebody. To make matters worse, my dad kept bugging me to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. He even suggested getting married. I got him to stop bugging me about it eventually, however. I guess he figured his independent little girl was going to stay that way.

I ran into Gippal one day when he came to the Bikanel desert. I was helping Nhadala with some repairs, and I guess he was there on some "important Machine Faction business" or something like that. We exchanged the usual teasing and insults, but before he left Gippal invited me to come visit him in Djose. This threw me a little off guard, but after a few days I decided to go anyway. It's not like I had much else to do.

The one visit eventually started turning into other visits, until I was pretty much spending all of my time there. It was weird, but we were actually becoming pretty good friends. We talked about nearly everything, and Gippal even mentioned something about leading a team that was going to help rebuild Home. He wanted me to be in it.

I can't pinpoint the exact moment when I fell in love with Gippal. I think it was more like a series of events that I had to go through before I could start seeing the fact that I did indeed love him. We shared our first kiss on a humid summer night in Djose. I would like to tell you that it was horribly romantic, but it wasn't exactly a fairytale event. Gippal had never beforehand told me that he loved me, or even remotely liked me. He just grabbed me and kissed me. Most girls would have been appalled at the way he did it. That was Gippal for you; actions, not words. After that event the whole "boyfriend/girlfriend" starting happening, and we were doing all those cute things like holding hands and such. We had to hide it from everyone, though, which was difficult. The media would be on us and my dad would probably want to hurt him. It didn't matter that he knew Gippal, I was still his little Rikku.

It all happened one late summer evening. Gippal and I went to a party of some friend of his. We both had a few drinks, and our judgment was a little impaired. It's not like we were completely wasted or anything, because I still remember everything. We should have had enough reasoning to know better. Before I knew what was happening, I was in a small, moonlit room in Djose- Gippal's room. Before I could stop myself, I was being whirled into a frenzy of love, passion, and lust. My body was being overwhelmed in new sensations as we explored each other in ways we had never dreamed. I remember all the little details, things like the scent of his hair, the feel of his silk sheets against my body, of mine against his. There was nothing but absolute love between us, and as we fell asleep in each other's arms, I felt the world was perfect.

I was seventeen years old.


	3. Memories

A/N: I'm sorry this took so long to get out. This chapter was pretty difficult for me to get through, and to add I've been getting an insane workload from school. Yay.

Big thanks to all the people who have reviewed, and enjoy :)

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I collapsed on the floor, my whole body suddenly feeling very heavy. I couldn't think, I couldn't see, hell, I don't think I even blinked. All I could do was stare at the little white thing I had dropped onto the floor.

Positive.

My hands started to shake. I don't know how long I just sat there, staring into nothing, before the tears came. I was so distraught I couldn't even sob or cry like I so desperately felt like doing. The tears just flowed down my cheeks, dropping onto the floor. I felt so burdened with so many feelings and I felt so heavy. Yet I felt nothing. I was numb.

I can't be. I just... can't be. There's no way.

It's a mistake.

And no matter how much I wanted to tell myself that the test was wrong, it wasn't. It was the second one I had tried.

I honestly don't think I could ever describe fully what I felt in that moment. All I know is that it all combined into a big feeling of helplessness. I was frightened and I felt like I was completely out of control of my own life. I couldn't understand why this was happening to me. You always hear about it happening to other people, but you don't think it's ever going to happen to you. And when it does... words can't describe what you feel. You think that after being worried about it for so long, you're ready for that final test, no matter what the outcome. You think you're ready for that final blow, but when it comes, it drops on you like the weight of the world.

It was so surreal, I thought I was dreaming.

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I knew I had to tell Gippal sooner or later. We had seen each other only a few times since that night. The Machine Faction was keeping Gippal extremely busy, and my dad thought the amount of time I had been spending with him wasn't healthy or something and he barely let me see him. I guess he was starting to get suspicious of us after I didn't come home that one night. To add to all of the stress I had going on, dad was treating me like I was a child. He rarely let me go anywhere other than work. This only added to my increasing anxiety. He didn't understand that I just needed to get away. With everything I had going on, I just felt like I needed to talk to somebody. Anybody. And when I did actually get to see Gippal, he was always so exhausted or frustrated with work that we barely talked. He was already under so much stress that I didn't want to tell him about my pregnancy worries. I figured once I found out for sure I would tell him.

Well, when the day came to tell him, I just couldn't do it. We visited a couple more times after I took the test. I knew Gippal could sense something was wrong, but I just gave him excuses about my dad being a jerk or not feeling well. I had my little speech all planned out, but every time I went to tell him I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I didn't know if I could stand to do this to him. He had so much going for him. He had a great career, fame, and he was respected and admired by many Al Bhed. I couldn't do this to him.

One day, nearly two weeks after I had taken the test, I finally decided that I was going to tell him. No excuses. I was tired of having to lie to him all the time.

I entered his headquarters at Djose like I usually do. Pretty much everyone there knew who I was. The guards let me through without even a blink, and a few people greeted me as I walked up the stairs to Gippal's office. I could feel the nervousness start to build up inside of me again. I had to stop several times on the way up because I seriously thought I was going to be sick.

I stopped in front of Gippal's door, afraid to enter. I was sweating, my hands were shaking, and I just couldn't bring myself to reach for the doorknob. I stood there for a few minutes, trying to calm myself, just trying to keep the tears from coming already. Once I could breathe normally again, I slowly moved my hand towards the doorknob, turning it slowly so it wouldn't make much noise.

I opened the door, and noticed that the room was pretty dark. I figured Gippal was resting or something, so I tried to be quiet as not to disturb him. I walked through the first part of his office, which was a lounge-type area, before I stopped at another door. It was open about halfway, and I could hear two voices coming from it in loud whispers. Wait... two voices?

Unable to contain my curiosity, I leaned my head over a little to get a better view. The room was dim, but I was still able to make out what was going on. I could see Gippal... he was laughing about something. The other person was a woman, and I immediately recognized her. It was a receptionist lady that worked at the office. She was a beautiful and attractive Al Bhed woman that often greeted me on my visits to Djose. She was tall and had features that any woman would be jealous of. She was twirling a lock of her short, wavy hair with one of her fingers, and I heard her laugh too.

There was a few moments of silence. The girl just stood there, staring at Gippal intensely. He was staring back at her, his eyes not leaving hers. Slowly, the girl leaned up towards him and her lips locked with hers.

She kissed him.

And Gippal kissed her back.

I was on the verge of throwing up. Not being able to watch any more, I ran out of his office, beginning to sob uncontrollably. I was pretty damn sure that Gippal and his little receptionist

could hear me, but I didn't care.

I couldn't feel, I couldn't see. I just ran blindly down the steps, sobbing, tears clouding my vision. I ran into a man, knocking him down, and I couldn't even utter an apology as I just kept running out the door. I wasn't aware of the people looking at me, yelling things at me. I just had to keep running.

Where was I going? I didn't know. I just had to get away. I had to keep running.

I don't know how long I ran or how far it was before I finally collapsed. I don't know if it was from exhaustion or from the fact that my body felt like it was going to break under the weight of my emotions. All I knew was pain, and all I could feel was my heart being wrenched from my chest, and all I could see was nothing.

Black.

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Rei's hand gripped mine tightly as we stepped off the hover. Her excitement had diminished somewhat and she was more nervous. I gave her a reassuring smile and ruffled her hair, causing her to smile back. We could do this.

I scanned through the crowd of people that came to greet those just arriving for my dad or brother. I didn't see either of them. So we both just stood there and waited while the crowd started to thin out.

"Mommy... let's go!" She tugged on my hand, and I could tell she was growing impatient.

"We have to wait for your grandpa, Rei. Just a few more minutes." I knew my answer was probably a lie. By know I doubted they were even coming for us. They didn't want us in the family anymore.

Another five minutes passed. By then there weren't that many people left, and I was becoming worried. I would have to find a way to tell my daughter that her grandpa and her uncle didn't want us, and I didn't want to have to do that.

Just as I was thinking about leaving, a bald figure emerged from the people walking along the city.

Cid.

He certainly had aged a bit since I last saw him. He had more wrinkles around his eyes, and especially on his forehead. With all of the frowning he did, I wasn't surprised. He still had the same stern, grouchy look. Yup, it was dad.

His face brightened a little when he saw us, although I wouldn't exactly call it a look of happiness. He stopped, and I could feel his eyes scanning me. I gave him a small smile. None of us spoke for nearly a minute. The air was so tense that even Rei could feel it. She was clinging onto my leg, hugging her bear tightly. I almost wanted to laugh.... Rei was scared of Cid.

After staring at me for a while, his eyes moved down toward little Rei. She just stared at him.

"Cu... oui sicd pa meddma Rei So... you must be little Rei" He smiled at her. He opened up his arms for her to hug him, but she just clung onto my leg tighter, staring at him blankly.

"Cra tuach'd cbayg Al Bhed She doesn't speak Al Bhed." Dad glanced at me disapprovingly. She did know a few words, but not enough to formulate sentences. She was having enough trouble with her original language so I had not pressed a lot of Al Bhed on her. I still felt a little ashamed, however. Dad seemed pretty disappointed.

"Don't be afraid now, Rei. I won't bite ya." Cid smiled, and Rei moved towards him apprehensively. He picked her up and swung her up in the air, causing her to giggle and scream. Rei was smiling when he set her back down. "See? I'm not so bad." He motioned for us to follow him, and we walked for about ten minutes before we reached our destination.

It was a small house tucked on the edge of a busy street. It was beautifully detailed, and I took in a sharp breath when I saw it. "Dad... you have a house!" When I was growing up, when never had our own home. We traveled a lot so we mostly inhabited airships. When we did stay in city, we stayed at the town building.

Dad had told us that when we were very young we had a house. He told us about how Mom made it real pretty, and she loved that house. I was so young that I didn't really remember much of the house, just when it burnt down. Brother remembers some of it, though. He always told me about it when he told me about Mom.

Anyway, I was amazed to find out that Dad had finally got a house. He told me that he would never be able to get another one... not after what happened. It would just hurt too much, you know?

"Yeah... I guess I did." Dad rubbed the back of his head and grinned. "Thought I'd might as well get one, now that we're back Home. Don't travel much more anyways."

He led us into the house and showed Rei and I around. It had two bedrooms that Dad and Brother inhabited. We were going to sleep in Dad's room, and he was going to sleep on the couch. I thanked him, and when he left the room I set my suitcase down on the floor. Rei jumped up on the bed and I got a few of her dolls out for her to play with. I knew she was going to be bored and lonely here, but it was only for a few weeks. We would be out of here soon enough.

After taking a short nap with Rei, we had dinner with Dad. He said Brother was out working for the day and would probably be back later that evening. They were getting Home ready for the celebration tomorrow. He updated me on what had been happening- Brother had mostly been traveling and doing different work, but in the last few months he came back to help with work on Home. I imagined he wouldn't exactly be thrilled to see us- I hadn't communicated directly with him since I left. I'd only talked and wrote to Dad, and for a moment I wondered if he even knew that I was here.

After dinner, I took Rei outside so she could play. She ran around in front of the house for a little while before a young Al Bhed girl approached her. I guessed she was around three or four. The girl asked if Rei wanted to play with her, and even though she spoke all Al Bhed Rei recognized the word for play. She did know some of her own language. When she turned around to ask I gave her my nod of approval. Ecstatic, she bounced across the street to where the girl was at. The two girls bounced a ball around for a while, and Rei would giggle when she would send the ball way past the other girl's reach and she would have to chase after it. I just sat on the steps of Dad's home and watched them, smiling.

They did this until it was nearly dark outside. Rei was disappointed when I had to call her in. She was covered in sand, and I had to brush it all off her clothes and dump it out of her shoes. I was even brushing it out of her hair later that night. Ah, the desert childhood.

I was feeling pretty tranquil by the time we went to bed. Rei was exhausted from playing and was out as soon as her head hit the pillow. I found sleep hard to come by, however. I heard Brother enter the house, and I hoped he wouldn't try and talk to me or something. I didn't feel like a confrontation at the moment. After a while the house grew completely quiet, and I assumed he went to sleep. All I could do was think about the next day. I was going to try and avoid Gippal as much as possible. I really did not feel completely ready to talk to him the day after I arrived. I still hadn't figured out what I was even going to say to him. I guess that would depend on how he would react.

Eventually, my thoughts quieted and I fell into a light sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I awoke the next morning to find Rei jumping on the bed in an attempt to get me up. I reached up and grabbed her, bringing her down on the bed so I could tickle her mercilessly. This sent her into a fit of giggles before she finally pleaded with me to stop. I let go and she bounded off the bed and out of the room. The smell of breakfast flooded the small house, but I wasn't really hungry. I buried my face in the pillow and was about to drift off to sleep again when Dad yelled something about the food being done. I yawned and rolled over in the bed, not really wanting to move. I somehow managed to gather the energy to get up, however, and I stopped in the bathroom. I splashed some cold water on my face to wake me up, and after I dried my face in the towel I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked like a mess. My hair was all over the place, and dark spots were beginning to form under my eyes. Lovely.

After making myself fairly presentable, I entered the kitchen where everyone had already begun eating. Dad was sitting down next to Rei, and Brother didn't even look at me when I sat down. He was chatting with Dad about some new thing he was working on, and I didn't pay much attention. I was too nervous too eat, and I mainly just picked at my food. Today was the day.

All the way through the meal Brother didn't look at me once. He was avoiding me. He didn't even say one thing to Rei, his own niece, the entire time either. I was pretty sure he didn't even introduce himself to her, and she was probably wondering who he even was. He still looked the same as he ever did, and I'm surprised he didn't scare Rei with his looks. It was really starting to bother me, though, how he wouldn't even acknowledge my presence. I hadn't seen him in over two years and he can't even manage a "good morning." That's Brother for you.

Eventually we got ready to leave. The festivities were to begin early, and I'm sure everybody would want to crowd the center of the city so they could hear Gippal or somebody give some big, heartwarming speech. We walked down the street, and about ten minutes later we reached the town center. It was pretty big, and there was already a bunch of people gathered around the stage. Some people were working on machina for later in the day, when they were going to have a few bands perform. Leave it to the Al Bhed to make an awesome show.

After about fifteen minutes, the crowd started to quiet down a little. A man came up on the stage and talked for a few minutes about the events that were going to occur during the day. He then introduced Gippal.

My breath caught in my throat when I saw him. It had been so long... and he looked almost exactly the same as he used to. He smiled and waved at the crowd as he stepped up to the podium, and the people cheered. He obviously still had influence.

He had been standing there, about to begin his speech, when his eyes first locked into mine. I could _feel _him gazing at me, and his mouth was slightly open. His face was blank, and I could not tell what he was thinking or feeling or anything. I just stared at him blankly as well... I couldn't bring myself to do anything else.

There was no turning back now.


	4. Revelations

A/N: I promise things will start to move along quicker now that everything is set up. I'm still not quite sure where I'm going to go with this so I apologize if I keep taking forever to update.

I'm sorry for leaving you on a cliffie last chapter, and I'm sorry for this next one :)

I would like to send a HUGE thank you to all my reviewers so far: oOoDancingQueenoOo, FFAngel, Jamie, MoMo-ChAn1, elegant-lil-lady, rikkufan, Black-Eyed Mistress, O-Rikku-O, dagger, Rikku SWiRLS, skyhopper, WhiteWillow, Cute-Kitty, mystic s n o w f a l, Stari-nite, kingleby, Jen, reviewer, and Lyphe.

Big hugs to you all. :)

-

"Yunie?" My voice cracked as I stared at her face in the commsphere. I was still in Djose.

"Rikku? Rikku, what's wrong?" She had a look of concern. She hardly ever saw me like this.

"Yunie... I need to talk to you." Tears streamed down my face, and I told her the whole thing. Everything. She knew that Gippal and I had been seeing each other, but she knew nothing about the pregnancy or what had happened. I felt bad laying all of this on her at once, but I had no one else to talk to. Nowhere else to turn.

Her eyes grew wide as the events unfolded, and after I was done she stared at me blankly as I sobbed.

"Rikku... do you want to come to Besaid? You can stay with us for as long as you want, or until you feel ready to go back. You know you're always welcome here." She gave me a reassuring smile.

I sniffled and stared into the commsphere. "I think I'll do that, Yunie. I'll only stay for a little while... just to get some stuff sorted out, you know?"

"Stay as long as you want, Rikku." Yuna smiled at me again. I didn't deserve such a great friend and cousin.

I reached Besaid in only a few days. The whole way there I kept getting seasick and I felt like I couldn't eat a thing. Add my physical problems to my mental anguish, and I just felt miserable. I knew Yuna could tell I felt awful when I stepped of the boat. She ran up to hug me and all she talked about was how pale and sick I looked, and insisted that I go right back to her and Tidus' home and get some rest.

Sleep was hard to come by for a long time, however, and I just kept feeling more sick as the days went by.

-

It seemed like hours before Gippal began his speech, although I knew it was only a matter of seconds. Even though his eye wandered away from me, I couldn't tear my eyes away from him.

"I would like to begin by thanking each and every one of you for coming here. I know many of you traveled far. I believe that you all feel just as much as I do that it was definitely worth the journey. It was worth all of the countless days, labor, and effort that was poured into it. It was worth the many days out in the middle of the desert, many miles from anywhere, going sometimes for days without food or substantial water.

"So many of you sacrificed so much to see this place come alive again. But can you tell me that it was not worth it? Can you honestly stand in the middle of all of this and not have your breath taken away? Do you not feel wonderful that you have returned?

"Sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to see your dreams come true. Seeing Home again, in all of its glory, was just a dream two years ago. A vision fueled by our longing to return to the place we had grown to love so much. We can never return to the old Home, where so many of our cherished memories remain. But we can build anew.

" I would like to welcome you to the new Home, the place of new beginnings. A place where you can begin to rebuild your life. I know that some of you will not be living here because you have business elsewhere. That is fine. All I ask is that you do not forget the place where you came from. Keep Home in your heart, and visit when you can.

"Now that we have entered a time of peace, I believe that Home will be here for a very long time. And as we enjoy our new city, please remember the old Home and our loved ones that were lost with it. Don't let your memories fade into the dust."

Gippal waved a little bit more as the crowd cheered. Although his speech was short, he still knew how to move his people. He glanced over in my direction once again, but Rei was playing by my feet so he could not see her.

I decided that I should try and talk to him. I asked Dad to watch Rei for a few minutes, and I pushed my way through the crowd until I reached the outside. Gippal had just stepped off the platform, and a few older looking men were shaking his hand and talking about his little speech. I waited for a few minutes before they walked away, and one of the men stepped on the stage and the crowd burst into cheers again.

After he shook the last man's hand, Gippal turned around to face me. His eye was fixed on me intensely. He looked kind of sad, and confused. He gave me a little smile and walked towards me.

"I was startin' to think I'd never see you again, Rikku."

"Same here." I felt so stupid. All I could do was give him a fake little smile, and stare at him like an idiot. What was wrong with me?

"Why did you come back?" He had stopped smiling now.

"Same reason as you... to see Home."

"You know there's more to it than that. If there wasn't then you wouldn't be talking to me."

Not even one minute into the conversation and he's already aggravating me. Same old Gippal. "Look, could we talk somewhere private? I think we both know that there's a lot more we want to say but not out here."

Gippal frowned. "I'm busy all day. How about we meet back here after the concert tonight?"

I was frustrated. I know we both really wanted to get this over with. I didn't think I could last until tonight. That might give me too much of an opportunity to change my mind. "I guess so." I turned around and started to walk away.

"Rikku... why did you leave?"

His words stopped me dead in my tracks. I looked at the ground and sighed. "You know why, Gippal. Don't play dumb." And with that I continued walking, not bothering to look behind me.

I couldn't let him see me cry.

-

The rest of the day went well enough. Rei certainly seemed to be enjoying herself; she got a green balloon (her favorite color) and a little moogle painted on her face. We did quite a few different things and by the time the sun started to set and the concert began Rei was wiped out. I held her in my arms for most of the concert as she slept. How she could sleep with all of the lights and loud noise and machina flying around our heads, I have no idea. There were only a few bands, however, and after a couple hours they made the closing speeches of the night. To my surprise, Gippal did not speak. I just hoped that he would show up on time to meet me.

I handed the sleeping Rei over to my dad, who offered to take her home and get her in bed. I gave him a smile of appreciation before I tried walking my way through the crowd again.

Emerging from the mass of people, I noticed that Gippal had not arrived yet, which wasn't a huge shock. I ended up waiting for about twenty minutes before he finally showed up.

I noticed that he looked kind of tired. He walked slowly, and he didn't smile at me or anything when he saw me. He just stopped and motioned for me to follow him.

We walked for only a few minutes before we reached the place. I assumed it was his new office or something, because it was toward the center of the city. Knowing him he probably lived in there too. He did at Djose, anyway.

We entered the building into a sort of a small reception area, and up a couple flights of stairs until we reached a small hallway. We entered the room at the end of it, and when Gippal flipped on a light I realized it was his bedroom.

I knew it.

His new room didn't look all that much different from his old one. It was a little smaller. He

still had a lot of his old furniture, arranged in a similar way. For a second I felt like I was back in Djose.

He sat down on the bed, and I sat next to him. We said nothing and sat in awkward silence for what seemed like hours. There was so much that we both wanted to say, so many questions... but yet we could not find the words. There were so many things I wanted to know, and I know Gippal wanted some things answered too.

"Rikku... I don't know what to say."

"Alright... I guess I'll start." I cleared my throat and looked at the floor. "Can you tell me what happened? I mean... you know I saw it, but... I guess what I want is for you to tell me what happened. And why."

Gippal looked at me with sadness in his eye, then looked away again. This was hard on both of us. "Well... I really don't have any more to tell you. All I can say is that I wasn't thinking, Rikku. I was stupid. She made the move on me, and I didn't push her away like I should have. I don't know why I kissed her back. I didn't love her. All I can say is that I am so sorry and I was an idiot. I know that doesn't make it any better. I know it doesn't make it hurt any less, Rikku. I'm sorry, and I hope you can forgive me someday." He looked at me again, and he tried to put his hand over mine. I pushed it away and choked back a sob.

"How could you do that to me, Gippal?"

He winced, and I knew my words had hurt him. At that moment, I really didn't care. I know it sounds horrible, but I wanted it to hurt. I wanted him to suffer what I had gone through for the past two years. I wanted him to feel pain.

After a pause, he spoke again. "I don't know. I don't know why I did what I did. After that day I told her that I never wanted to see her again because I was so ashamed. She resigned, and I haven't seen her since."

"Oh, I see. You were just using her... just like me."

Gippal seemed really hurt. He faced me and put his hand on my arm, but I didn't push it away. "Don't ever think for a second that I didn't love you, Rikku. That I was trying to replace you. I loved you so much... and I still do."

I couldn't stop myself from crying, and I desperately wanted it to be like the old days again. The days where I could just crawl up in Gippal's arms, and he'd stroke and kiss my hair and tell me that everything would be okay. Things were different now. "If you cared about me so much... why didn't you follow me?"

"I was stupid again, Rikku. I was so ashamed of what I did I couldn't face you. I figured I'd just let you have some time before I would talk to you again, so you could have time to think about it for a while and calm down. I never thought you'd leave, though. I never thought you'd disappear on me like that."

I covered my face with my hands and the tears kept coming. Out of the corner of my eye Gippal was wiping away tears with his sleeve. Gippal... crying. I never thought I'd see the day.

"I know you're not going to forgive me right away, and I can understand that. Just please think about what I've said, Rikku. I still love you. I haven't been with another girl since you, Rikku. Do you know why? Because I can't forget about you. As much as I wanted to move on, you were always there. I kept seeing your face and your smile and your laugh and you know what? I realized that I couldn't ever forget about you. You're special, Rikku. No woman could ever replace you."

I began to cry a little more, and Gippal took me into his arms. It felt so nice that I didn't object. Instead, I let his warmth envelop me like it used to as I let the tears flow down onto his shirt. I clung on to him, helpless, confused, wondering why the tears wouldn't stop falling. He just held me, saying nothing. That was all he needed to do.

-

After a while Gippal bid me goodbye after I promised to meet him there again the next day. I couldn't bring myself to tell him about Rei that night. There were already too many things being said, too many emotions. I resolved to tell him the following afternoon.

The stars shone brilliantly in the dark sky, and I stood outside of Gippal's home for a while, just staring into the abyss. I began to walk like that, staring at the sky. I crossed my arms and tried to warm myself up a little bit against the chilly night air. It was not that long of a walk back to Dad's house, and before long I was entering his dark living room. It looked like everyone was asleep. I walked slowly towards my room and opened the door as quietly as I could. I gently sat on the bed and snuggled under the covers next to my slumbering daughter. She was clutching her bear tightly and I just watched her for a while. I knew sleep would not come easy that night. There were too many things to think about.

I really couldn't decide whether I thought Gippal was telling to truth or not. I wanted to believe so desperately that he really did truly still love me and want me in his life. What he did kept running through my head, however, and for a moment I found it hard to believe that I could forgive him. I didn't think I could ever forgive him, no matter how much he claimed to love me. What he did forever changed things between us.

The look he gave me, though... it really did seem like he was telling the truth.

The next day Rei was up bright and early again, leaving me to the comfort of the bed. I got very little sleep and I didn't feel like I could pull myself out of bed. Rei, of course, would not leave me there for long. After much persuasion, I finally forced myself to get up. Breakfast was done, but I didn't feel really hungry. Dad had to comment on me not eating, of course, and finally persuaded me to eat something after his familiar short speech on "no daughter of his was gonna be ungrateful for what they had" and "wastin' food when many people don't have none." I had heard this so many times as a child I had the entire thing nearly memorized.

After forcing something down, I got Rei dressed. She picked out a blue sundress with little yellow flowers on it and she had me put a couple of barrettes in her hair. She was a real girly-girl, unlike my childhood self, although not afraid to get dirty. She still had me and her father's adventurous spirit.

Dad wanted me to get a few things from the store, and I decided to take Rei with me. It was nearing noon, and the sun was already starting to beat down. This didn't bother Rei, though. She just skipped happily along, holding my hand and trailing her bear Datto behind her, his little arm dragging in the dust. I laughed and told her to pick him up a little bit. That bear was so dirty but Rei wouldn't ever let me wash it.

A few people were gathered around the main street, going about their daily business. Some people were picking up a few streamers and things left over from last night.

When we reached the store, I had Rei help me shop. She would find the things we needed and point them out for me. The cashier mentioned how cute she was and gave her a little piece of candy, which she enjoyed thoroughly. With a bag in one hand and Rei's tiny fingers in my other, we left.

There were more people out than before helping with the cleanup. I just walked around them and laughed as Rei let go of my hand to go after a little bug she found.

"Don't go too far, sweetie." I just smiled at her as she picked it up and asked if we could take it back home to grandpa's house. Despite everything I had on my mind, I was having a good time. I felt like today might just be alright.

I did not notice that Gippal had seen us coming out of the store. I did not realize that he was standing only a few feet behind me as he stopped and stared blankly in my direction, his mouth open in confusion and disbelief.


	5. Confessions

A/N: Well, here it is- the chapter you guys have been waiting for. I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. Don't worry, though- there's still plenty more. I'm not going to end it here. And I promise I'll try not to do any more huge cliffys, but I can't promise anything :)

Thank you guys once again for all of your reviews. They really mean a lot to me. 

-

It had been almost three weeks since I had reached Besaid. Yuna kept saying how worried she was about me. I had hardly been out of the hut in all that time, and I still felt really ill. I kept insisting that I was fine, that I just needed time to work through some things. Yuna kept saying that she was going to have the "village doctor" see me. She was worried about me and the baby. I refused to let her get one... I was just going through a rough time.

I spent most of my time in someone's hut, but occasionally I wandered outside. The sunshine and the beach didn't succeed in making my mood much better. It was all real pretty and everything.. it's just that everything I saw kept reminding me of _him_. The green grass and trees reminded me of his eyes, the sparkling ocean of his smile...

He just wouldn't go away, you know?

-

That afternoon went along pretty well. Rei and I had a little outdoor picnic for lunch and afterwards she played with the little Al Bhed girl again. Rei had been learning a lot of Al Bhed already in her few days here. Dad and I had been teaching her some and I guess being surrounded by the language all the time was helping her. Rei told me that she couldn't wait to show Auntie Yuna and the others all that she was learning. I could only smile at her. I hadn't really thought about going home all that often in the last day or so. I guess it was because I had other things on my mind.

Dinnertime came along soon enough and it was time for me to go see Gippal again. I promised Rei I'd be back to tuck her in that night. I knew that I was going to tell him about Rei tonight and I really didn't want to stay at his place too long because I know he'd be angry. No, furious. I guess he had every right to be, though. I just wanted to get this over with.

I had little trouble finding his building; it was almost the biggest one in the city. When I entered I checked in with the receptionist. She said that Gippal just got out of a meeting and he should be waiting for me upstairs. I gave her a thanks and make my way up the flights of stairs to his hallway.

As I approached his door I was suddenly overcome with a sudden feeling of déja-vu.

I felt like I was brought back to Djose almost three years ago. I stood outside his office then, preparing to tell him about Rei.

I tried to assure myself that things were going to be okay this time. This was entirely different.

Or was it?

I pushed my fears into the back of my mind the best I could and took a deep breath.

Be brave, Rikku. You helped kill Sin. You helped destroy Vegnagun. You are the mother of a two year old child. This is nothing... you can do this.

I slowly opened up the door and noticed that the room was dark. I flipped on a light and saw Gippal sitting on his bed again, staring at the floor in silence.

"Hey." I said meekly.

He said nothing.

I sat on the bed next to him and looked him over. He didn't really seem to be particularly angry. He just kept staring at the floor, almost sadly. "Well... you going to say anything?"

"Rikku," his voice croaked, "who was that little girl with you?"

I froze. A hundred different things started buzzing through my head, but I could say nothing. I could only stare wide-eyed at the ground, my mouth open but silent. How did he know? When did he see her? He must have seen us earlier today.

Dammit, Rikku, you should have realized that he might see you. I mean, he lives here too. It's not like he keeps shut up in this room all day.

Gippal turned around, his green eye fixed on me intently. He wanted an answer. "Well?"

Come on, Rikku. Speak. Say something. "She... her name is Rei." Nice one. I turned around to face him as well but I could not make myself look him in the eye. "Gippal... she is my daughter." Wait a minute, I don't think that's...

"She's WHAT?" Gippal practically leaped off the bed. "Rikku... what the hell?" He stood, there, his hands moving from his hair to his face to just kind of waving in the air. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!"

I stood up. "Wait, Gippal, let me explain!"

"Oh, yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you? Hey Gippal, I was so emotionally traumatized by what you did, but two days after I left I found another guy and fucked him and hey, look, I got knocked up! Isn't that great?"

"GIPPAL!" I screamed, anger and hurt burning up inside of me. He thought it was someone else's little girl.

"What, Rikku? So you gonna tell me who this guy is? What a wonderful father you have for your daughter? Did he come back to Home with you, or did you leave him behind?"

"Gippal, listen to me..."

"When were you going to tell me about this?"

"Today, but..."

"But what? Any other guys in the picture? Any other babies I should know about?"

"NO!" I screamed. We were both getting really loud, and I'm sure just about everyone in the building could hear us.

"Yeah, that's what you want me to believe." He placed his hands on his face and sighed. "Look, I really need to be alone right now. Don't talk to me." He turned around and started walking out of the room angrily. I followed him out into the hallway.

"GIPPAL! WAIT!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE, RIKKU!"

He started running faster, but I caught up to him. I grabbed him by the shoulder and whipped him around so he faced me.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" His voice was cold and malicious. I had never heard him talk like that, ever.

"REI IS YOUR DAUGHTER, GIPPAL! SHE'S YOURS!"

"She... what?" His voice changed tone, and he stared at me with confusion.

"You heard me. She is your daughter, Gippal. I have been with no one after you. She is your little girl."

Gippal just gave me a blank stare as he processed what I had told him. He frowned, and then opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out.

I put my arms around him and gave him a hug, trying to comfort him as I could feel the tears start to come. "I'm so sorry, Gippal. I should have told you sooner. She's your little girl... your daughter. Our daughter." The tears slid onto his shirt, and I felt disgusted with myself. How could I not tell him?

"I... have a daughter. I... I..." Gippal returned my hug a little, but I felt him quickly start to slip down. I could not hold him up and he collapsed on the floor in a flurry of emotions. Relief. Confusion. Anger. Disbelief.

I sat on the floor with him and stroked his hair, my tears streaming down my cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Gippal... I'm sorry..."

Gippal just laid there, his head in my lap, staring into nothing. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know, Gippal. I don't know." I bit my lip and sniffled. "I guess I was just scared. I thought after what happened... you didn't love me anymore. I just couldn't bring myself to do it." I could feel him tense up. "I know that's not an excuse. What I did was inexcusable, Gippal. I'm so sorry... please forgive me."

Gippal shot up suddenly, his hands on his face again. He turned around and looked at me. "I want to see her."

"Now? She'll be going to bed in an hour or two, Gippal."

"I want to see her." His repeated, his voice cold and demanding.

"I can bring her by tomorrow morning."

I don't think he was very happy with what I told him, but he would have to live with it. I wasn't going to bring Rei all the way down here this close to her bedtime to see him, especially when he was this angry. I wanted him to calm down first so he had some touch of sanity when we came to see him.

"Well? Is that okay with you, or do you have something planned?" I asked.

He said nothing, but only gave me that same blank look. It was starting to make me angry, the way he wasn't talking to me.

After a few more moments of waiting for him to speak, I got tired of sitting. I stood up, turned around, and started to walk away. "We'll be here around ten," I said angrily as I left. I heard Gippal turn around and walk in the other direction, back to his room.

I left the building in a flurry of anger and disappointment. I was angry with him and with myself. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I mean, did I actually expect him to take this well? To be happy?

I could be such an idiot sometimes.

-

The sun was beginning to set, and I walked slowly back so I could recompose myself a little. I didn't want to walk into the house looking all angry and upset. So I took my time, trying to enjoy the scenery. My mind was still on other things, though.

When I got to the house Rei was inside coloring a picture. When she saw me walk in, her face lit up and she jumped into my open arms, making the both of us laugh. She jumped down just as quickly and ran over to grab her picture.

"Look, mommy! Look what I made!"

I took the picture from her. I didn't really know what it was... it looked like a few blue and green scribbles to me. "What is it, sweetie?"

Rei sighed like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She could have an attitude when she wanted to. "It's Besaid, at the beach!" I smiled at her and sat down in a chair. Rei climbed into my lap and hugged me tightly. "I miss Besaid. I want Vidina."

I returned her hug. "I know sweetie, I know. We won't be here too much longer." I kissed the top of her hair. "Besides, you've got people to play with here too, remember?" I tickled her little feet, causing her to giggle. She jumped off the chair and ran off to our room.

I ate a little bit of leftovers from dinner, then I played dolls with Rei. She asked Grandpa if he wanted to play with us, but he just laughed. That's Cid for you.

I gave Rei a bath then I took a shower. Not too long later we went to bed. It was still a little early but I was tired.

I tried not to think about the next day as I tried to make myself sleep. I couldn't help but notice how much Rei looked like Gippal. She had his wild hair... his intense green eyes... his adventurous spirit. I think the only thing she had of mine was her little nose. Her face, maybe, but that was kind of hard to tell at two years old. In any case, I wondered if Gippal would notice the similarities. It was kind of hard to believe that he thought she was someone else's daughter.

I just hoped that he would find it in his heart to love her, even if he couldn't love me.

-

The next morning came as usual. Rei, as always, was up before me and waking me up. I went through the same morning routine, although that morning I actually ate all of my breakfast. I ended up being the one to make it, though. Dad was still sleeping when Rei woke me up and Brother was gone somewhere.

Afterwards I helped Rei pick out a nice lavender dress. I brushed her hair as best I could with her squirming, and put part of it back in a ribbon. Rei was excited because she got to get all dressed up, which she hardly ever did. When she asked why she got to wear her "pretty dress," I told her it was because we were going to meet a special friend. I couldn't tell her that Gippal was her father. I wondered if I ever could.

-

Rei was her usual bouncy self when we reached Gippal's building. We were a little bit early, we still had about ten or fifteen minutes 'till ten. I checked in with the receptionist, who said that Gippal would be in some sort of conference until ten thirty.

So much for not being busy.

I took Rei outside to play for a while, but the growing desert heat soon brought us back into the air-conditioned building. I was used to desert heat, but Rei wasn't. She played around in the reception area for the rest of the time, having make believe adventures. A couple men and a woman came in the building and Rei jumped out at them from behind a plant, pretending that they were fiends. I scolded Rei and told her to apologize, but the people only laughed. The woman told me that she was the cutest little thing, making Rei smile.

Eventually ten-thirty rolled around and the receptionist got a call from Gippal saying that he was going to be waiting for us. I thanked her and took Rei's hand as we made the climb up the stairs. I began to grow nervous again. What if he was still really angry? I just hoped he wouldn't say something he shouldn't in front of Rei.

We reached his room. The door was open and he had the light on. I was still holding Rei's hand tightly as we walked inside. Gippal had been sitting in a chair looking at the wall when we came in. When he saw us he stood up, his eyes immediately moving to Rei.

I could see his eyes scanning her, taking in every little feature. Did he believe that she was his?

It was silent for a long while and I could tell Rei was starting to get uncomfortable. I let go of Rei's hand and ruffled her hair a little bit. "Rei... this is my friend."

Rei smiled at Gippal, but her arm was still clutched around my leg. I couldn't believe that the same girl who jumped out in front of those strangers like that could be so shy.

Gippal gave her a small smile. "Hello, Rei. That's a pretty name."

There must have been something in his voice that gave Rei comfort. She let go of my leg and gave Gippal another smile. "Hi." She walked up to him and looked at his face. "What's wrong with your eye?"

I was about to say something to Rei when Gippal laughed. He thought it was funny. Maybe he wasn't too angry after all.

Gippal looked at her for a little while longer while Rei told him about her "pretty dress." He only smiled softly at her and looked at her with something in his eyes that I had not seen since that evening a couple of nights ago.

Love.

After Rei was done talking, Gippal knelt down to her level and opened up his arms. Rei giggled and walked over to him. He enveloped her in a hug, and Rei hugged tightly back. Tears streamed down his face and onto her as he stroked her hair. Rei, in her innocence, just smiled and patted his back and told him that there was no reason to be sad and that everything would be okay.

Gippal motioned with his arm for me to come over, and I knelt down and he wrapped his arm around tightly me. I finally succombed to my emotions and started crying as well, my arms wrapped around the both of them. We just stayed that way for a long while; crying, smiling, laughing, holding each other close and never wanting to ever let go.


	6. Contemplation

A/N: Thank you guys for all of the positive reviews for last chapter. It's nice to know that I was able to bring a little bit of fluffy-ness into your lives. :)

This chapter is a little bit different from the ones I've been doing. Not too much is going on, it's just about the thoughts of both Gippal and Rikku. It's told in the third person, and I'm not quite sure why I did that. It just seemed to fit better than switching between different views. I hope you enjoy this installment anyway, as boring as it may be. The action will resume again, I promise. :)

-

Even though it was afternoon, the room was dark. Only a small streak of sun crept through a crack in the curtains that covered a large window. Gippal was sitting in a chair he had placed next to his bed, staring at the little girl curled up inside of his blankets. Rei was taking a nap in the large bed, Datto clutched to her side and her tiny hand curled next to her face, her small body rising and falling gently with each little breath. Gippal seemed entranced by her... he couldn't tear his eyes away from her slumbering form.

All of this was so new to him. Of all the things Gippal could seem himself someday doing... he never really saw himself as a father. He guessed that he saw it as a possibility in the far future, but... when he was this young? He had already accomplished quite a bit in his twenty-two years of life, but a family was something he always saw as something that would come later down the road. And even though he didn't like to admit it sometimes, he imagined that family to be with Rikku. He didn't even start to think about things like marriage until, well, about two years ago. He didn't intend on marrying Rikku right then, though- they were both still pretty young and his career was just starting to flourish. There was too much going on.

Things like his career and high status didn't seem to matter much now, though.

Now Gippal had to decide what was going to come next. At that moment he had no idea where they were going to go from here. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to think. Hell, he didn't even know what to feel.

What little he did know was that he had to face what life had given him. The day before, Gippal was the twenty-two year old Machine Faction leader, looked up to by all Al Bhed and a leader for his community and his people. Although he was an important figure, he was still a young man. A man that still had nearly a lifetime to experience. To the public, he always appeared calm and intelligent. He always knew what to do and how to get it done. Gippal was a bit more experienced than most guys his age, but he was still a young man. He still had fears and, although he did not like to admit it, he did not always have the answer. He was still a human being.

Today, Gippal was still that same young Machine Faction leader. He was no different as a person, but he felt like he was. He was a father.

__

A father.

He honestly did not know what that truly meant. His own father had left his mother when he was very young so it's not like he had a father figure to base his own actions on. His mother worked so hard to provide for them after he left. They mostly traveled around, looking for odd jobs that would put the next meal on the table. His mother was very kind and loving, and Gippal loved her greatly, but she wasn't his father. He just never had that male figure in his life. His mom never even had a single boyfriend that he could base it on. She loved his father so much, and she didn't want to go through that again. Then, when Gippal was in his mid-teens, his mother came down with a very bad illness that they called cancer. He took as many jobs as he could trying to support them both and to help pay for his mother's medical bills.While his friends were out having fun and gawking at girls, Gippal was forced to grow up. She had no one else.

Despite all of his efforts, his mother died about one year later. Gippal wasn't even there when it happened... he was doing a job for a neighbor. He came home at night to find her laying ever so still on her bed, her eyes closed and her skin frighteningly cold.

He would never forgive himself for not being there for her. He let her die alone.

Gippal dealt with his grief by burying himself in his work. He became obsessed with learning all he could about machina and he would end up working for people like Cid, trying to absorb everything he could. A couple of years later he joined the Crimson Squad. It seemed like a noble cause at the time... it felt like he finally had some sort of purpose in his life. That was, until it all went wrong.

He dealt with his grief in losing Rikku the same way. He buried himself in his work until he knew nearly nothing else. The more his mind was on other matters, the less he had to think about her. The less he had to think about how, once again, he had screwed up.

People told him that it was unhealthy for him to work so much. A guy he worked with tried to hook him up with other girls, but none of them mattered to him. None of them were her.

Now he had approached a moment in time where Rikku had returned to him. Rikku, his Rikku, was back. He looked at her softly as she stared at the wall, apparently also in deep thought. Maybe she was wondering what to do next, too.

Only a week ago he was a lonely man that had nothing. Today, he had the love of his life back and a daughter. _His _daughter

He had everything he had ever wanted. Yet there was something still bothering him, plaguing him, bordering on the edge of his thoughts. Why?

He looked over again at Rei's little sleeping form. She had his unruly thick hair, but she had Rikku's cute little nose and face. Her big eyes, too. Those big, bright, green eyes that never ceased to amaze him. And as he watched her slumber, he was overcome with a feeling of amazement. He and Rikku had created this little angel, together. This child was created through their love. Having unprotected sex like that was not the smartest move they had ever made, but Gippal didn't think it was a mistake. How could you look at her, that little girl, and say that it was a mistake? He might have thought that yesterday, but now... now he did not know what exactly to think. Everything was so different now... everything had changed.

The thought that was bordering on his mind had returned. As much love as he felt for both Rikku and his newfound daughter, he could not help but have some anger directed at Rikku. He had lived for two years not knowing that his daughter existed. He missed her growing up. He missed two years of his daughter's life, and that was time that he could never have and Rikku could never give back to him, no matter how sorry she was.

He knew it was unfair to be really angry with Rikku. She had done what she thought was best. He still couldn't help but feel a little bit upset, however. It was understandable given his circumstances.

He knew it would take time to get over these feelings... but right now he needed to decide what was going to happen next.

-

Rikku glanced over at Gippal, who seemed to be deep in thought. His eyes seemed to be stuck on Rei. He had that look of seriousness on his face that Rikku had seen before. It was the same look he got when he was thinking deeply about a problem at work or trying to solve some kind of machina problem. He was sort of frowning, but only slightly, and his elbow rested on his knee while his hand supported his face, resting underneath his chin. He was completely still and unmoving, oblivious to what was going around him. Rikku used to think that it was cute when he did that, a long time ago.

She had been, overall, pretty happy with how the meeting went. Gippal didn't say anything stupid and if he was still furious with her he hadn't said anything. She knew he was still a little mad at her, but that was to be expected.

She had sometimes wondered if Gippal ever thought about having a family. It didn't seem like he would, he was always focused on business. She had sometimes wondered what kind of a father he would make.

She didn't think he would know what to do. He was always dealing with men and women usually much older than himself and probably had little contact with children. He handled himself pretty well today, but in the long run he would probably be clueless.

Rikku was too, at first.

When Rei was first born, Rikku felt absolutely helpless. She knew absolutely nothing about parenting or even remotely how to be a mother. Without Lulu's help and guidance, she didn't think she would have made it. Rikku remembered when Rei was just an infant, and she was always running to Lulu with all sorts of questions. She didn't know what she was doing, and even though Lulu kept telling Rikku that she didn't know at first either, it didn't make her feel any better. At least Lulu remembered having a mother so she had some sort of idea.

Rikku's own mother had died in that house fire when she was very young. She didn't know too much about the incident because she was very young, and Cid and Brother didn't talk about it so she never learnt much from them. She didn't really know much about her mother, except what Brother told her. She never saw a picture of her because they were all lost in the fire.

Brother said that she was very pretty. She was short, especially compared to Cid, but she wasn't weak or anything. She was a fighter and could have beaten Cid up blindfolded if she wanted to. She was very kind and loving. Brother told her that she used to make up all these adventures and tell them to her as bedtime stories. He said her favorite one was about a little girl who befriended an abandoned chocobo and they had many adventures together as the girl tried to become a Summoner so she could someday defeat Sin.

The fire, she later learned, was a sort of hate crime against the Al Bhed. Her father was a very prominent figure in the Al Bhed community at the time and was targeted. They never found out who exactly set the fire.

Throughout her life she would come to a greater understanding that many people did not like the Al Bhed. They were hated throughout Spira for what they were and what they did. It always seemed so senseless to her but she encountered it often. Cid taught Brother and her to be proud of their heritage and who they were, to never hide themselves because of that. He told them that they shouldn't fear anyone or ever think anybody was better than them because they weren't. They were just as human and good people just as much as anybody else. Yet as Rikku would begin to travel throughout Spira later on in her teens, she found that hard to do. She knew she wasn't any less than anybody else, but she didn't always feel proud of who she was.

She had always told herself that her children would be different. They would live in a time where the Al Bhed were not looked down upon as lesser beings, but as equals. They would be proud of who they were. Rikku could only hope that Spira would be that kind to Rei... that she would never have to go through what she went through. As much as she wanted the best for her daughter, she knew that times of peace rarely lasted long, and that harder times were ahead. They always were.

Rikku's eyes moved from Rei to Gippal again. He was staring off into space, still looking all contemplative. Rikku didn't really like the silence, but she didn't really know what to say. She didn't want to make Gippal mad again so she just sat there in silence for some more.

She really didn't know what they were going to do now. Gippal had met his daughter, but Rei had yet to know he was her father. Rikku knew that Gippal would ask her eventually when he was going to tell her, and she didn't know if she could give him an answer. Truth was, she didn't really know. She wanted to tell her, but she didn't want to hurt her. She didn't want Rei to get all attached to Gippal only to have to leave him behind.

This brought up a new question. Would they even be going back to Besaid? Would Gippal let Rikku take his daughter away, now that he had just found her?

He wouldn't. Who would?

She thought she knew him. Before she came she thought that Gippal would just be angry at her and disinterested in Rei. When the time came he would only be too glad to get rid of them.

That was when she was still really angry at him, though. She had it set in her mind that Gippal was an insensitive bastard that cared nothing about her.

The way he looked at Rei, though, told her that he did care. The way he told Rikku that he still loved her told her that he wanted her to stay. The looks he gave Rei said that he acknowledged her as his daughter and perhaps even wanted to be a father.

They would have to figure out what they were going to do. She wondered if Gippal would let it be known to the public that he had a daughter or if he would try and keep them a secret. She knew that Gippal would be looked down upon for having a child so young, with an even younger girl no less, and keeping it secret this long. He would lose some of the respect he had gained. He was supposed to be responsible and somebody who didn't make mistakes, somebody the little kids want to be when they grow up. That was part of the reason why she found it so hard to tell him in the first place.

Yet Rikku also knew that Gippal could not keep this secret for long. Somehow, someway, it would leak out and he would look even worse for trying to keep it hidden. She didn't know what he wanted to do, but there would be time to talk later. Now, they had time to just think and watch their daughter sleep, and Rikku was content with that for now, even though she wanted answers.

She sighed quietly. She knew that this wasn't going to be easy. They would make it through, though. It would be hard... but they would make it.

They always did.


	7. Stars

A/N-sighs- I hope you guys enjoy this chapter... it didn't exactly turn out the way I wanted but I can't figure out what's bugging me. Ugh. Having a block. Maybe I put too much fluff in it, I don't know.

Thank you guys so much for all of your reviews-hugs-

-

"We should probably get going." I looked at Gippal and gave him a smile. He seemed disappointed that we had to leave, but it was getting late. It was nearly dark outside and I could tell Rei was getting pretty sleepy, a fact she would deny in between yawns and rubbing her eyes.

He stood up, picked up Datto from the floor, and handed it to Rei who eagerly took him. He opened up his arms for one last hug, and Rei complied drowsily. I picked her up in my arms and she laid her head on my shoulder, her eyes beginning to close. Gippal moved his hand across her hair and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. I looked at him and smiled as he continued to stare at the little girl in my arms.

"Does Cid have a commsphere, Rikku?" His voice was almost a whisper.

"No."

"Do you think that you could come back tonight, after you put Rei to bed? We...we need to talk, and tomorrow I'm pretty busy."

"Um...yeah, I guess. I'll just have to convince Cid to let me leave." I laughed.

"Don't tell him you're going. Just sneak out, like you used to do, remember?" He gave me a gentle smile.

"I need to let somebody know, Gippal. I just can't leave Rei there without telling them I'm leaving."

"Oh, I'm sorry... I forgot." He looked down at the ground and scratched the back of his head. "Well... at least ask him for me. I don't know if I can wait two days."

"I'll try." I gave him a smile before I turned and left the room.

The building was pretty dark and most of the people had already gone home. The woman at the desk was gone and it was eerily quiet. I noticed that it was pretty chilly out when I got outside and I made a mental note to grab a sweatshirt or something before I left to go back. I seriously doubted that Dad would be okay with me leaving to visit Gippal at night by myself but he would have to deal with it. I was almost twenty years old... I wasn't a little girl anymore.

When I got home Dad was sitting on the couch reading something. He looked up at me when I entered and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Where you been all day?" His eyes moved back to his book.

"Gippal's. I told you about it, remember?" I went to the bedroom and started getting a barely awake Rei ready for bed.

"No, I don't remember," he yelled. I rolled my eyes and finished putting Rei in her pajamas. It was silent for a few moments before Cid spoke again. "So... he saw her?"

"Yeah." I helped Rei snuggle underneath the covers and gave her Datto.

"Did it go alright?"

"Yeah. It was fine." I kissed Rei on her forehead and told her goodnight. She smiled and closed her eyes. I grabbed a blue sweater and left the room, leaving the door open a crack so Rei had some light. "Dad... can you do me a favor?"

"What? And where are you going?" He turned to face me, his expression stern.

"Just over to Gippal's again, Dad. Could you please keep an eye out for Rei? I won't be long."

"Whoah now, why are you goin' back there? You've been there all day."

"Gippal and I need to talk, Dad. He'll be busy all day tomorrow."

"Talk, eh? Is that what they call it now?"

"DAD!" My hands clenched at my sides. He could be so difficult sometimes. "Nothing is going to happen. I'll be back in a couple of hours." I turned around and walked away.

He coughed. "I've heard that one before."

I didn't even respond as I walked out into the night air once again. I pulled my sweater on and cursed under my breath. Cid was still the same as always.

The stars were already shining bright in the dark sky... out in the desert you could see them pretty well. When I was younger I remembered coming out and looking at the stars. I used to wonder what it would feel like to be up there with them... sounds kinda weird, but I had a big imagination, I guess.

Gippal and I went stargazing once.

I reached the building pretty quickly. I must have been walking faster than I thought. As I made my way up the stairs again, I noticed how dark and eerie the place was. I wondered how Gippal could stand to live there... it would creep me out.

I noticed that the room was pretty dark when I got to it. I could still make out Gippal's form on the bed, however. He was deep in thought again and didn't even notice me until I sat down next to him. He gave me a small smile.

"Manage to convince him?"

"Not really." I laughed. "He's still the same."

Gippal gave me a gentle smile. "And you? Are you still my same Rikku?"

"I don't know, Gippal... I just don't know. So much has changed, you know?"

"Yeah." He looked at the wall and bit his lower lip. "Well... why don't you start by telling me what you've been up to these past couple years."

"Um... taking care of Rei, I guess."

"Come on, Cid's girl. You've been up to other stuff."

I smiled at the name. I never thought it would feel nice to hear him call me that. "No, not really. After I left Djose I just went to Besaid and stayed there. I've just been hanging around with Yunie and everyone, I guess. What about you?"

Gippal laughed. "Oh, the same old stuff. Work. Helping manage the rebuilding of Home. Nothing real interesting."

It was quiet again for a few minutes before Gippal spoke again.

"So... I heard Yuna's expecting a baby."

"Yeah. She'll be having it pretty soon."

More silence.

"So... what are we going to do about this whole thing? I mean... with Rei, and telling people... and everything."

Gippal cleared his throat and placed his chin in his hand. "The people will have to know. It's just a matter of when and how I tell them," he sighed, "I think I'll bring it up at the council meeting tomorrow. The other guys will probably know what to do more than I will." He rubbed the back of his head and sighed again.

"I'm sorry for doing this to you, Gippal... I know what this is going to do to you... what other people are going to think."

He just laughed at me. "You're not usually one for caring about what other people think, Rikku. I don't care about them. Let them think what they want."

I gave him a small smile.

"You have changed a little." Gippal placed his hand on my back and pulled me close to him. I placed my head on his shoulder and he took my hand in his. "I've missed you, Rikku."

"I've missed you too."

Silence.

"I guess we have to decide where to go from here. With us, I mean."

"I don't know, Gippal."

"I know... I know we still need some time. I just want to know how you feel right now... if you think this is worth putting back together."

I bit my lip. "What do you think?"

He was quiet for a minute before answering. "I think it's more than worth it. What we had was special, Rikku. I want that back."

"Things can't be the same again. You know that." My voice came out in a choked whisper. Gippal tightened his grip on my hand.

"I know. I still think we have something, though. I think we have enough. It will just take time."

"What do we have, Gippal? Too much has changed. Everything... it's so different."

"We have love, Rikku. I still love you more than anything even after these years. I can tell you still love me. And are we really that different? We have something here, Rikku... I just need you to tell me if you want to do this... if you want what we had back."

The tears were welling up again. I was so confused... every logical part of me was telling me that this couldn't work... that we were different than we used to be, that we would never get back what we had... but another part longed for what we had. I wanted to be held again, in that way that made me feel safe from the world. I wanted to be kissed in that way that made me feel alive. I wanted someone that I could always talk to and always depend on to make me feel better... to make me feel like there really was a reason for living.

I wanted to be loved again.

The tears came. I turned around and snuggled into Gippal's shirt. He placed his arms around me and embraced me in a warm hug. He kissed my hair gently and whispered soothing words that I could not make out. I just held onto him like I was a small child, starting to sob as I let all of the confusion, frustration, loneliness and everything that I had been holding on to for so long go. We sat like that for around half an hour, just holding and taking in each other. I started to calm down, and I smiled slightly as I took in his scent.

Maybe things hadn't changed so much, after all.

-

I left Gippal's residence that night without giving him a definite answer. He told me that it was fine and I could think about it as long as I needed to. I could tell he was anxious for my answer, though. He told me to visit him around dinnertime the next day along with Rei. He gave me a hug and a smile before I made the journey back to where our daughter was sleeping.

I had quite a bit to think about on the way back but my mind didn't seem very focused. I figured it was just because I was tired and I would think on it some more in the morning. Sighing, I crossed my arms and looked up at the sky as I walked.

The stars seemed to be even brighter than earlier.

I wished I was a star. They never seem to change... you can always tell where they're gonna be whenever you look up.

-

I awoke the next morning to find, as usual, an awake and bouncy Rei at the foot of my bed. I pulled her down on to the bed and tickled her feet, causing her to giggle loudly. She grabbed Datto and ran off the bed and down the hallway and I heard Dad say something to her about breakfast. I groaned. I didn't think I had slept in once in the last two years.

Yawning, I made my way into the kitchen. We did our normal breakfast eating routine, and I took Rei out to play afterwards. We took a walk around the town and when we came back she played with the neighbor girl again for a while. We ate some sandwiches for lunch and Rei played with the girl's dog for what seemed like hours. They chased it all around the house and played fetch and all kinds of different things. I just watched them and tried to think about what I was going to tell Gippal tonight. I had so many things going through my mind it seemed I couldn't think straight. I mean... it seemed so simple... but was it?

I knew that things weren't ever going to be the same again. I knew I still had feelings for Gippal, though. I couldn't deny that. I still felt happy when he smiled at me and beautiful when he looked at me with love. I still felt so safe and at peace when he held me and comforted when he stroked my hair. I longed to feel one of his kisses again... I wanted to feel like I was truly alive.

Then... it dawned on me. The answer was obvious.

I still loved him.

I wanted to be with him.

I smiled and looked up at the sky, taking comfort in my decision.

-

Dinnertime came around soon enough, and Rei and I walked back to his building. The woman at the desk told us he was waiting and we made our way up the stairs. He was in his room, sitting down at a table that had been placed in there. He smiled and went up to meet us.

"Hope you like spaghetti." He smiled and Rei gave him a quick hug before she ran inside his room.

I looked up at his face. He looked tired, but relatively cheerful. I smiled at him and our eyes met. Gently, I placed my hand on the back of his head and I brought his face to mine where our lips met.

I had almost nearly forgotten what it was like to kiss him. His lips were so warm and soft and he placed his hand in my hair, keeping me close. For just a few seconds the world could disappear and all I knew was him.

Slowly, I moved away and opened my eyes. I gave him a gentle smile and he just looked surprised, although happy.

"I want to be with you, Gippal. I want this back."

He grinned and leaned down to give me another quick kiss. He leaned his forehead against mine and we closed our eyes, our arms wrapped around each other in peace and understanding.

-

The grass was wet underneath my body, but I didn't care. It was a spring night in Djose, and I was outside the temple where Gippal was supposed to meet me fifteen minutes ago. Tardy as usual.

I rubbed my arms to try and keep warm. It was a lot colder than I expected, and my stupid teenage self hadn't thought to grab a coat or something on my way out. Then again, I snuck out, so keeping warm wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind.

I stared at the sky for a few minutes, just gazing at the stars, before I heard footsteps approaching from behind.

"What are you looking at?" His voice was loud in the quiet and still of the night.

"Just the stars. They're real pretty tonight."

"Not as pretty as you," he sat down next to me in the grass and wrapped his arms around me, kissing me cheek.

I gave him a playful punch in the arm. "Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Acting all sweet. It's just not you."

He made a fake gasp and laughed. "Why, Rikku, I'm hurt. Who ever said I couldn't be romantic?" He kissed my cheek again and squeezed me tighter. "I have a sensitive side too, you know."

"Really? Prove it." I looked at him and grinned.

Gippal leaned over towards me and kissed me. Not just any kiss... a mind-blowing, amazing, take-your-breath-away kind of kiss. It was deep, loving, and passionate- there was no doubt in our minds that we loved each other as we embraced and the world drifted away.

I don't know how long we kissed like that. By the time we parted, we were both pretty breathless. He smiled at me gently and caressed my cheek with his hand.

"Have I ever told you that kissing you is like a wonderful dream that I never want to wake up from? That I love you more than life itself and I could kiss you until the stars fell from the sky?"

I smiled at him. The way he kissed me made it a little bit more believable that Gippal was actually saying this. "No."

"Well, now you know." He kissed me again and we laid in the grass together for a while, just enjoying the feeling of being close, warm, safe, and utterly happy as we just gazed at the stars for a while.

I could have stayed that way forever.


	8. Pressures

A/N: Sorry 'bout the wait for this chapter. School and other things have been keeping me pretty busy. -sigh- I'll try really hard to be faster for the next chapter.

Thank you once again to my reviewers! I hope everybody had a happy Valentine's Day. :)

Oh, and I apologize in advance for the ending. -smacks forehead- . 

-

Gippal did a good job with the dinner. The table had a few candles that gave a dim light to the room which gave it a 'going to a restaurant' type of feel. I didn't know he had it in him.

"Since when did you learn how to cook?" I asked him after taking a bite of spaghetti. It was actually pretty good- better than my cooking, but of course I wasn't going to admit that. It's not like it was a huge accomplishment to cook better than me, anyway.

Gippal smiled. "I've known for a long time."

"Have not."

"Yes, I have." He gave me an evil sort of look.

"How come you never cooked for me before?"

"You never asked."

I stuck my tongue out at him and he just grinned. He always had to be the smartass.

We enjoyed our dinner in quiet for a little while longer. Rei was completely oblivious to us as she slurped up her spaghetti noodles, and I let out a little laugh when one hit her nose and she got sauce on it. She didn't seem to notice, however. That girl could be so cute when she wanted to.

"So... did you talk to the council guys?"

"Yeah." Gippal shoveled another huge bite into his mouth.

"Well, what did they say?"

He swallowed his food. "They said that I should formally introduce you at the next big event at Home. The closest thing we have coming up is a concert... I think it's in two weeks. They even asked Yuna to come and maybe perform if she wanted to, but I don't know if she will, being so close to having her baby and all."

"Yeah. I don't think Tidus would let her go. He's so overprotective." A small smile crept onto my face after thinking about them. I had been here just under a week but I missed them.

"So... is that all they said?"

Gippal paused for a moment, as if he was thinking about something. "Yeah."

For some reason I felt like he wasn't telling me the complete truth. I just brushed it off, however. If it was a big deal Gippal would tell me. "So they weren't angry?"

"Well, they were a little, but it's understandable. I guess they think that I'm going to make them look bad."

"I'm sorry, Gippal... I know this is hard for you."

"Don't be, Rikku. Don't worry about it." He gave me a reassuring smile, but I knew it was still difficult for him.

"Gippal... do you have a commsphere here somewhere?"

"Yeah, I have one right over there," he pointed to a blue orb near a desk. "Why?"

"If you didn't mind, I wanted to talk to Yuna."

"Sure. Go ahead." He smiled at me.

I finished up my spaghetti and I went to put the dishes away Gippal stopped me and insisted that he would take care of them. I gave him a smile and kissed him on the cheek before making my way to the commsphere. I shouldn't have been surprised that he had one. Since Shinra installed the first few the network had expanded tremendously. Every place in Spira had at least one and in a few places there were dozens. Shinra's dream was for every family in Spira to someday own one and that didn't look too far off.

I entered in the Besaid commsphere location and waited for a few minutes for it to connect. Pretty soon I was staring at the island of Besaid. It looked like the sun was starting to set and I didn't see anyone but a few children running around.

"Hello? Anybody there?" I moved the camera around to try and find somebody. Soon enough, a red-haired man approached the sphere. "Wakka? Is that you?"

Wakka's face appeared on the screen and he blinked a couple of times. "Rikku? Hey, Rikku, how ya been?"

"Pretty good." I smiled. "How's things going over there?"

Wakka shrugged. "Same as usual. I've been stuck on temple duty all week."

"Bummer. Hey, is Yuna around?"

"I think her and Tidus went for a walk or somethin', but they should be back pretty soon. Is Rei there?"

"Yeah." I turned around. "Rei, honey, do you want to talk to Uncle Wakka?"

Rei smiled and practically leaped off her chair. She ran over and sat on my lap before waving enthusiastically at the screen.

"Hey, Rei, have you been having fun?"

Rei just nodded and smiled. "Vidina there?"

"Um... I think he's out at the beach with Lu. Sorry, Rei. You'll just have to get your mommy to call again so you can talk to him."

Rei frowned and put out her lip, as if her pouting would bring Vidina back. I felt kind of bad for Wakka... the poor guy didn't know what to say.

He didn't have to wait long, however. Soon enough Yuna and Tidus came walking up behind him, and I heard Yuna ask him who he was talking to. Rei bounced off my lap and went to play with her bear.

Wakka looked at them then looked back at the screen. "She's back. You guys take care now, ya? And have fun."

"Thanks, Wakka. You too. Talk to you soon."

"Yup. Here she is." His face was replaced by Yuna's confused one.

"Yunie?"

"Rikku? Rikku, it's you!" She smiled and laughed. "How have you been?"

"Pretty good. And you?"

"Fine, given the circumstances." She just smiled. Her belly seemed to have grown noticeably larger since the last time I had seen her. "Tidus is being such a worrier that I can hardly leave the house." We both laughed and Tidus grumbled something in the background. "So... how are things with you and Gippal? Has Rei seen him yet?"

"Great, and yes. She adores him."

"That's wonderful!" She smiled. "So I take it you'll be staying there longer than planned?"

I paused for a moment. To be honest, I hadn't really thought about it. "I guess so."

"So, did you hear about the concert?"

"What concert?"

"The one in two weeks?"

Duh. Gippal had just told me about it. "Yeah... are you planning on going?"

"I think I will. I haven't done anything like that in a while, and it'll be nice to get off the island. I'll get to visit you guys, too. I just have to convince Tidus to let me go before I can give them a final decision."

"But aren't you due to have your baby pretty soon?"

"I still have over a month, Rikku. We'll be back to Besaid by then." She laughed. "You're acting like Tidus again."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Am not." We both laughed.

"Well, I should probably let you go. I'm planning on going to the concert but if that gets changed I'll send a message your way."

"That's great. I can't wait to see ya."

"Me neither. Be a good girl, okay? And have fun." She smiled.

"You too. Take care of yourself."

"I will." She smiled and then the screen went blank.

I stood up from the chair I had been sitting in and stretched a little bit. I walked over to Gippal and ruffled his hair. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. Yuna's coming, that's great." He stood up and gave me a hug. "A concert with the Lady Yuna will be a great place to introduce you. The whole thing might go over better, with her there to support you and all."

I looked up at him, confusion evident in my face. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, um, you know..." Gippal ran his hand through his hair. He was searching for the words. "Not everybody is going to see this as a good thing, Rikku." He sighed. "In fact, most people aren't exactly going to be thrilled."

"So? That's their problem. It's not like they have any business in our personal lives, anyway." I crossed my arms and frowned. What was his problem?

"But that's not what people think. We're supposed to be people to look up to, Rikku. Not just me. You're Cid's daughter, remember? We represent the Al Bhed. If we look bad, then everybody looks bad."

I glanced at the floor. I could not bring myself to face him as the guilt of everything washed over me once again. I knew it wasn't going to be easy... but it was still hard, you know? "Is that what you believe, Gippal? That we have to be perfect?"

He sighed and looked at the floor. "No. But that's what others think. To them, any bad things we do make all of us look bad. It's not like the Al Bhed need another thing to make people hate us. When we make bad decisions, other people's wrong perceptions of us are just confirmed, and we're continued to be seen as everything they think we are. People are just... tired of it, you know?"

He glanced up at me and our eyes met. I bit my lip and walked over to him and his arms wrapped around me in a welcoming embrace. I leaned my head into his chest and sighed. "We're only human."

Gippal closed his eyes and kissed the top of my head. "I know... it's not fair. But that's the way it is." He ran his hand through my hair and sighed gently. "But we'll get through this. I promise." He kissed me once more before his arms released me, and I looked up to see him give me a reassuring smile. "We always do."

I smiled back and tilted my head up for a kiss, which he gave gladly. I could have sworn that Gippal either got taller in the past couple of years, or I had gotten shorter.

"When can you guys come see me tomorrow? I'm pretty much open, I just have to make a few commsphere calls in the morning."

"Whenever, I guess. I don't really have that busy of a schedule. I'm surprised Cid hasn't assigned me jobs to do yet." I laughed.

"Well, just come around sometime in the afternoon. I'll be here." He smiled and gave me another kiss. "I'm sorry to kick you guys out like this, but I still have some more work stuff to do. I have to meet a guy in ten minutes or so."

"You're not going to be late, are you?"

Gippal laughed. "No, I just have to go downstairs. I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay?" He gave me a smile before embracing me in a tight hug.

I gave him a kiss and turned over to Rei, who was playing on the floor. "Come on, sweetie, it's time to go." Rei looked up at me and frowned. She obviously didn't want to leave, but the look I gave her told her that it was best not to resist. She made a sort of pouting noise and stood up, grabbing Datto off the floor. She walked over to Gippal and gave him a quick hug before grabbing my hand. I gave Gippal a small smile and a wave before we walked downstairs.

We walked through the building and out into the open air. There were still a few people walking around and enjoying the nice and relatively cool evening. Rei seemed to be a little bit less angry about leaving, and she even managed a giggle when a small green beetle flew by. Most girls her age and even older were terrified of bugs like that, but not my Rei. She loved them.

My train of thought was interrupted when I walked into somebody, knocking him over and on the ground. I gasped in surprised. After I realized what happened, I apologized profusely and held my hand down to help him up. It was a tall man who looked to be in his thirties, with light sandy brown hair and small, blazing green eyes. He was familiar...

"Fydev! I'm so sorry! I almost didn't recognize you!" I laughed. Fydev was a friend of mine from childhood. His father worked for Cid for a long time and since Fydev was my age we often got thrown together to play when our fathers were busy with work stuff. I hadn't seen him since I left to join the Gullwings.

Fydev just smiled and took my hand as I pulled him up. He brushed some sand off his clothes and looked me over. "Why, Lady Rikku, it has been a while. Still your graceful self, I see."

I stuck my tongue out at him, as if I was ten years old again. "So... what have you been up to lately?"

He shrugged. "Not much. Just doing some repair work here and there, and then I started getting involved with reconstruction stuff. I'm on the council, now. I don't know why they'd want someone like me on there, but I'm not complaining." He laughed.

I gave him a blank look. If he was on the council, then he knew about... well, Gippal and me. "Guess you know what I've been up to, then." I looked down at the ground and pretended to be interested in my shoe. This was awkward.

"Yeah." He looked over to where Rei was playing with the beetle in the sand, out of hearing range. "I'm guessing that's her?"

I nodded, smiling at my daughter.

He laughed. "Yeah, she looks like she'd be Gippal's girl."

Rei turned around to face us, and smiled when she saw me. She walked over to us with the beetle in her hands, proud of her accomplishment in capturing it. After she showed it to both of us she ran back over to her spot and set it down in the sand again. I could see Fydev's eyes following her, and he smiled.

"I see you in her, too. She's a real pretty girl."

I smiled, not quite sure what to think of what he was saying. "Um... thanks."

We sat in silence for a moment while Fydev watched her play. "So, did you accept Gippal's proposal?"

My eyes widened, and I turned around to give him a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

Fydev also looked confused. "What... you mean, you don't know?" He ran his hand through his hair and looked at the ground. "Damn... um, this is... awkward. Forget I said anything."

I frowned at him and crossed my arms. "Oh no, you've got me interested. You have to tell me now." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Well... uh, you know that Gippal met with the council about you guys, right?"

I nodded.

"What did he tell you?"

"That you guys wanted Gippal to introduce us at the next concert. And something else about them being a little angry."

"Is that all?"

I nodded again. I was getting impatient.

Fydev sighed. "This really isn't my place to say anything. Gippal would be furious with me if I..."

"Just tell me already! I'll deal with Gippal."

Fydev bit his lip and looked at the ground. "Well, the council told him that they wanted him to ask you something before the concert and he promised us that he was going to do it by now."

"What was he supposed to ask me?"

"I really shouldn't be telling you this..."

"FYDEV! Tell me already!" I didn't mean to yell at him like that, but I was getting tired of him avoiding the subject. I had to know.

Fydev cleared his throat and stared at the ground, his expression blank and unreadable.

"Well?"

"Rikku... he was supposed to ask you to marry him."


	9. Doubts

A/N: Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I haven't had internet access for a while and to add I've been pretty busy. Thank you once again for all your reviews and support :)

I know you're going to hate me for this chapter, but stay with me. Things will get better.

"He... he... what?" I choked, my mouth open in disbelief. My eyes were wide and fixed upon Fydev, searching for answers that he could not give. Why would they ask him to do this? No, wait, I knew the answer to that one. Why did Gippal give in to them? And, more importantly, why didn't he tell me about it?

To be honest, I really did not know what to feel. Was I supposed to be angry? Well, I guess I was a little angry. About what, I was not completely sure. I knew it was unfair to be angry at Gippal for what his elders told him to do. I guess I just felt deceived, you know? He didn't tell me about this, and I felt left out.

I guess that's how he felt when I told him about Rei.

I sighed. There was no use being really angry at Fydev or Gippal. I was just... a little upset. Confused. Worried.

Hell, I didn't know what I was.

"I'm so sorry, Rikku... I'm so sorry I had to be the one to tell you this."

I gave him a small smile. "Don't worry, it's okay. I was the one who made you tell me, anyway." I sighed again, then looked at Rei who was skipping around in the sand, keeping herself entertained. "Well, I should probably get going."

"Oh, me too. I'm late for a meeting." Fydev gave me a wave and a smile before leaving. "I'll see you guys around."

"Okay," my voice came in a whisper as he walked past. I called over to Rei and she bounced over to me, her hand finding mine. She talked up a storm while we walked home, but I remained mostly silent. I was too distracted to do much else.

The night passed and the next day came as usual, with nothing really out of the ordinary. Dad mentioned something about Nhadala wanting to see me, probably for some work, but I told him that I would look for her tomorrow. I had a feeling that I would not be in the mood to see her that day, or have much social interaction at all. My mind was set on what I was going to say to Gippal. To be honest, I really had no idea what I was going to say or how I was even going to bring it into a conversation.

The uneventful morning was eventually followed by afternoon, and I knew I would have to go see him soon. I decided not to bring Rei with me... I didn't want her to be there if we ended up getting into an argument or something. Both Gippal and I could say some pretty bad things when we want to.

The walk to his office was pretty normal. There weren't that many people walking around and I managed not to bump into anybody on the way there. I waved to his receptionist and walked up the stairs, hoping he would be in his room. He wasn't, but the door was left open. I flipped on a light and sat down on his bed, waiting for him to come back.

I sat there, staring into nothing, for about twenty minutes before Gippal came back. I heard him coming down the hall, and I turned my head to see him walk right in. He stopped when he saw me and gave me a smile. He looked around the room and his smile faded when he realized that Rei was not with me.

"Rikku... where is Rei?"

"I didn't bring her."

"Is something wrong? Is she okay?" Gippal sat down next to me, concern showing in his voice.

"No, she's fine. Gippal... we need to talk."

"Oh." He looked down at the floor and put his hands on his knees. I wondered, for a moment, if he knew.

"I ran into someone from the council yesterday, on my way home," my eyes fixed on the wall. Gippal remained motionless next to me, still looking down. "He knew who I was... he asked me if I had accepted your proposal," I swallowed and looked up at the ceiling. I could hear Gippal shift uncomfortably next to me and I guessed that he knew what I was talking about. There probably wasn't a need to keep going, but I kept talking anyway. "When I asked him what he meant, he got all nervous and didn't want to tell me. He said that he was surprised that I didn't know," I closed my eyes slowly and sighed. "I eventually made him tell me. He said that you were supposed to ask me to marry you."

Gippal was silent. I heard him shift his arm and run his hand through his hair. He didn't know what to say, and he kept moving around nervously. It was then that I started to feel kind of bad for telling him, and for making Fydev tell me.

"I'm sorry you had to hear about it that way," Gippal's voice was quiet and unwavering, his eyes closed and facing the ceiling.

"Could you tell me what's going on? Why didn't you tell me about this?" I let a little bitterness escape into my voice. I was starting to feel a little hurt. I'm sorry? Was that all he had to say?

"I was going to tell you, Rikku. I swear. I just... never found the right time." He looked down at the floor, his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers in his hair. "The council was very adamant about this whole marriage thing. They told me that they wanted me to ask you, and if you accepted we would announce it at the concert. You've got to remember, Rikku, that these council guys are all still pretty old-fashioned and they think that marriage is the right thing for us... the only thing for us."

"Do you think it's the right thing?" I asked quietly.

There was a pause, and Gippal sighed. "I'd like to get married, Rikku. I love you and I'd love for you to be my wife and we could finally be a family, you know?" He looked at me, his eyes gentle and moist. "I just... I didn't know if you'd be ready. When I proposed to you, I didn't want it to be like this. I wanted to do it right, when it was the right time."

There was another long period of silence. I was letting everything he said sink in as I processed my thoughts before he spoke again.

"I want to get married, Rikku. And I'm sorry that this isn't the most romantic way to do it, but I promise I'll propose to you the right way sometime. I know it won't be the same, but we can make this work, Rikku. We love each other and we can do this. I want to marry you, Rikku... I want you to be my wife."

My eyes grew wide and my mouth opened slightly in shock. Did he... he just... proposed to me... what? My mind was swirling with thoughts, and I didn't know what to say. I didn't think he would actually want to get married. I mean, now? It had been barely a week that we had been back together, there were still things to sort through, it was just... it was all too soon. I loved him, but this... I needed more time. "Gippal... I... I don't know what to say."

"What do you mean?" Gippal sounded nervous.

I stood up, shock still evident on my face. I could feel my hands shaking. "Gippal... it's just... it's too soon, Gippal. I can't." I let out a small whimper, and I felt helpless and confused and hurt and scared and so many things and I didn't know what to do or say or think.

"Rikku... I... Rikku." My name escaped his lips in a sigh, and I took one look at his bright green eyes and knew I had hurt him.

"It's not that I don't love you, it's just... too soon. I can't do this, Gippal. I can't. I love you so much, Gippal... please don't hate me." Tears streamed down my face and I looked down, afraid to meet his eyes. Afraid to see how much I was hurting him.

He turned away from me and let out a sigh. "I could never hate you, Rikku. It's just... I don't know." He looked at the ground and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know."

I couldn't stop myself from crying. I felt so bad, and I knew I was letting him down, I just couldn't get married. Not now. It was just too early, you know?

Not now. I just couldn't.

I walked out of the room, afraid that more words from me would upset him even more. I knew that both of us needed to think for a while and now was not the time to talk about it when it was all so fresh and we were still distressed like this.

I walked out of the building, not bothering to wipe away any tears that fell. I didn't look at anyone, but I was probably receiving looks due to my distressed appearance. I didn't care. That didn't matter right now.

I stepped out into the warm afternoon air where the wind was causing dust to swirl around and I could feel it getting in my hair and face. I squinted and made my way through the empty street, not sure of where I was going. I didn't feel like going home right now.

I walked for a while until I reached the edge of the Home, and then I knew where I was going. Despite the sand blowing all around I could still see it in the distance, and I smiled. It was still in the same place.

It was a fairly large, abandoned machina tucked away near the sand. I used to go there and hide under it like it was a cave when I was a kid. It sounds kind of dumb, but it was a little special place of mine that I used to have. I could escape here, sheltered from the weather, and just let the world float away.

I was approaching it when I heard a familiar voice calling me from behind. I turned around to see him barely visible in the blowing sand.

"Fydev?" I called out, squinting in the distance. What was he doing here?

He walked toward me, and I quickly turned around. I didn't want him to see me like this, and I really wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody. "Rikku?" He walked up to me and stopped a few feet behind me. "Rikku? What are you doing? Are you okay?"

I put my hands over my eyes and tried to make my tears stop. They wouldn't though... they just kept falling and I cried, feeling very helpless and out of control.

"Rikku?" He placed his hand on my shoulder softly. I opened my eyes and he gently turned me around to meet him. "Rikku? What's wrong?"

I didn't say anything. I didn't want to, and I thought that my distressed state would cause him to leave me alone. I didn't want to have to explain it all to him.

"Did you tell him?" His voice was quiet and gentle, and he sounded concerned. His eyes were transfixed on me and I looked up to see his face.

"Yes." I sniffled and wiped tears from my eyes. "He... he said he wanted to get married. It's just... I love him but it's all too soon, you know? I can't... " I started sobbing, and I hated myself for it. I couldn't believe how weak and emotional I was being, especially in front of Fydev.

"I'm sorry, Rikku." He held his arms out and pulled me toward him in a gentle hug. He rubbed little circles on my back and I cried into his shirt. "Shhh... it's okay... shhh," his voice was soft and comforting.

"I just... I can't." I whispered as my crying started to slow down. I didn't know if I was trying to convince him or me.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine in the end." He whispered and pulled me in tighter. I just stood there, numb, as Fydev held me and spoke soothing words.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Why couldn't anything in my life be simple?


	10. Daddy

A/N: No, I am not dead. Sorry about taking almost a month to update- I've had tons of homework again, and things have been going that have kept me from writing. I'm not sure how many more chapters I'm going to make this, but I'm not done yet. I will really try and get the next one up sooner. Excuses, I know. I just hope the fluff factor in this chapter will make up for it. :)

oooo

We stood there in the middle of the blowing sand, silent, for a minute before Fydev let me go. I rubbed my eyes and sniffed. Why did I have to cry so much? I was tired of feeling like a confused, emotional teenager. Why couldn't our relationship be simple, like Yuna and Tidus? They hardly ever had problems.

That's just what you get when you fall in love with somebody like Gippal, I guess.

I thanked Fydev for everything and gave him a smile before I turned around to leave. I figured I'd might as well go back to the house, since I was feeling a little better. Paranoid Cid was probably wondering where I was.

I walked back slowly, still not feeling quite ready to go back. What was I going to do now? Should I go back and see him tonight? Tomorrow? Next week?

I didn't know. Well, I'd definitely have to talk to him before the concert in two weeks, preferably by next week, but... well, I kind of felt like an idiot. I still felt the same about the marriage thing, but I guess I overreacted a little bit.

Good job, Rikku... always got to be the drama queen.

Okay, so next time I talked to him I'd apologize. Then what? I still didn't want to get married so soon, but would I ever want to?

I stopped walking for a moment and sighed. Of course I'd want to marry Gippal someday. I mean, we love each other, right?

Then why was I so stubborn about not getting married right away, if we loved each other so much?

I guess it's just the way I am. I'm Rikku, the bubbly, hyper, independent, "I don't need anybody" girl. I don't want to be tied down just yet.

Or is it that I'm afraid that I'll get hurt again? That we'll get married and be a family, only have Rei and me hurt because Gippal couldn't keep his hands off another woman?

No... I don't want to believe that he would do that to me. I can't.

I start walking again and brush a strand of hair out of my eyes, blinking against the blowing sand.

I decided that for the time being, I would just think about things for a while... I'd decide what to do later.

oooo

When I got back to the house everybody was finishing up with dinner. As usual, Cid interrogated me about where I was, and Brother didn't even look in my direction. I decided that one of these days I was going to try and talk to him because the silent treatment was really starting to get on my nerves. I would rather have him say he was mad at me than keep ignoring my existence like this- at least I would know what he was thinking.

I noticed that Rei was pretty dirty from playing out in the sand all day so I gave her a quick bath before letting her loose to run around the house in a pre-bedtime "I'm not tired" frenzy. I took a shower myself, washing out all the sand trapped in my long and tangled hair. I must have looked like a mess, and I had a wonderful time trying to get out all the knots.

When I got out I saw Rei collapsed next to Cid on the couch and I smiled. She tired out sooner than usual; I was expecting another half-hour or so of chasing her around. I gently picked her up and gave Cid a grin. Her head rested on my shoulder and she had her thumb in her mouth. I was a little surprised, since she hadn't done that in quite a few months. Oh well.

I went to go down the hallway when I bumped into Brother and just about fell back into the wall. I gave an embarrassed grin and looked up at him, ready for him to pass me by.

"Cunno (sorry)." He said quietly before glancing at Rei and walking away. I sat there for a moment before I realized that Brother did in fact just talk to me. It wasn't much of a conversation, but at least he said something. I was getting somewhere, I guess.

I set Rei down in the bed and tucked her in next to me. I decided that I'd just go to bed then... it's not like I had anything better to do. I laid there, lost in my thoughts, before I slowly drifted off into sleep.

oooo

The next morning I woke up and, as usual, Rei was not there. I heard her talking to Cid in the living room; he was trying to teach her some more Al Bhed. She really was getting a lot better, and she would always get so excited every time she learned something new. She was able to communicate with the little girl across the street better now that she was learning more words.

I managed to crawl out of bed and I was met by a very excited little girl in the hallway.

"Mommy! E ys rihkno!" She exclaimed as she jumped up and down.

"You're hungry?" I laughed. "Did grandpa teach you new words?"

"Yep!" She said and tugged at my shirt. "E muja oui, mommy!"

"E muja oui, too, sweetie," I picked her up and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I love you too."

She giggled and ran off again after I set her back down.

"She's a pretty smart one, ain't she?" Cid looked at me and grinned. "You 'n brother weren't nearly that smart when you were two."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks dad." I wanted to point out that he wasn't always the brightest one either, but previous experiences told me that I should just keep my mouth shut.

"So, you guys goin' over to Gippal's today?"

I froze. "Um... I don't think we are. Not today."

"Oh. So you can help me with something then? I got loads of machina to fix and it'll take me forever by myself."

"What about Brother?"

"He's already busy. You're better at that kind of stuff than he is anyway. The boy does a good job, but he's too damn slow."

I sighed. "Alright."

Cid smiled. "Great. Rei will have a fun time with us, and it'll be a good experience for her. It's about time you got that girl messing with some machina."

"Dad... she's two."

"So? You 'n Brother were messing with 'em as soon as you could pick 'em up."

"Alright, alright. I'll take her."

oooo

Two hours later, I found myself out in the middle of the noon desert assembling parts and listening to Cid curse every three seconds every time something didn't go right... just like the old days.

I noticed that I wasn't going as fast as I used to, I guessed I was just losing my touch or something. It had been quite a while since I had done this. Oh well, it sounded like I was having an easier time than Cid was. I just hoped Rei wouldn't start repeating all those Al Bhed curse words.

Rei was having a good enough time. Cid tried giving her some pieces to play with, and she messed around with them for a while before she had them assembled and got bored. I was pretty impressed... this girl was definitely Gippal's.

She tried building a sand castle but it kept blowing away every time a wind came. After she gave up on that, she decided to come over and watch me.

"Mommy?" She said quietly and looked up at me with those adorable green eyes.

"Yes?"

"Are we done yet?"

I laughed. "No, sweetie. Grandpa and I are still working."

"Oh." She glanced at the ground and kicked at some sand before looking at me again. "Don't be sad, mommy."

"What?" I looked down at her, confused. "Mommy's not sad. Why would you say that?"

"You look sad." She walked up to me and gave me a small hug before moving a way again.

I smiled at her. "I'm not sad, sweetie. I'm just... thinking."

"Oh. Okay." She smiled and looked up at me again. She stood there for a few moments, just looking at me.

"What is it, honey? Is something wrong?"

"Mommy... when can we see daddy?"

I froze. Did she just say... what I think she said? No... she didn't... did she? "What did you say?"

"I said when can we see daddy?"

She did say it. How does she know? If Cid told her, I'll never forgive him... "Honey... who's daddy?"

She rolled her eyes and made a funny little noise. "The man in the big house. Gippal is daddy."

"Why do you call him that?"

"Because he's my daddy."

"Did grandpa tell you that?"

"No."

"Then how do you know?"

"Just because." She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. She turned around and started to play in the sand again, leaving me standing there like an idiot. I just stared off into space with my mouth halfway open, wondering how in Spira that little girl knew that Gippal was her father.

"Rikku?" I was broken out of my trance by Cid. "You gonna stare at the sky all day or what?"

"No." I sighed and started working on my machina again. He obviously didn't hear what Rei and I were saying, although I intended to ask him about it later. I wanted to think that Cid was the one who told her, but a part of me just thought that... well, that Rei was telling the truth. _She just knew._

It was things like that which made me believe Rei was an amazing little girl. She was so intuitive about everything.

Well, so where do we go from here? Rei now knows that Gippal is her father.

So what's keeping me from marrying him?

I froze for a moment, wondering where the hell that last thought came from. Just because Rei knows about her father doesn't change anything. It's still too soon to get married, whether Rei knows he's family or not.

I couldn't help but admit that her calling Gippal daddy was completely adorable. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face when she called him that, and I was suddenly struck with a sudden urge to go see him. Why not wait? Why not go now?

I finished up with my machina and walked over to Cid. "Dad, I'm finished. I'm going to take Rei with me to visit Gippal, okay?"

He mumbled a "sure" without even looking up at me. I turned around and ran over to where Rei was playing and I picked her up in my arms.

"Guess what? We're going to see daddy."

oooo

The building was pretty quiet when I got there. The receptionist informed me that Gippal didn't have anything scheduled for the moment so he would probably be hanging around his room or the building somewhere. I thanked her and took Rei with me upstairs. When I got to his floor I whispered for Rei to wait there until I called her and she nodded in excitement. I smiled at her before I tiptoed up the last few steps and looked around. I saw Gippal walk past me and go into his room. I smiled and walked after him.

"Hey, Gippal."

He froze, then turned around slowly. I gave him a small smile and he returned it, but only slightly.

"Look, Gippal, I'm really sorry. I'm sorry for yesterday, I overreacted. I shouldn't have acted the way I did."

He smiled again. "I'm sorry, too. You had every right to be upset, you shouldn't have to apologize."

"Yes I should." I walked over to him and gave him a hug, and he laughed as he brushed some sand out of my hair. He let me go and I smiled.

"I brought someone here for you," I grinned mischievously and Gippal gave me a confused look. "Rei, come on out sweetie."

She bounded up the stairs and jumped up into Gippal's arms. "Hi, daddy!" She laughed and hugged him.

Gippal froze and looked at me, confused. I gave him a smile and once he got over the shock he started grinning like an idiot as he hugged Rei even tighter. "Hi, sweetie!"

Rei giggled and jumped out of his arms before running into his room. Gippal looked at me odd. "How did she... when?"

"She figured it out on her own. She just asked me if we were going to see daddy today."

I thought that he wouldn't believe me, but he just gave me a smile and a hug. "She called me daddy."

"Yes. Yes she did. So how does it feel?"

"... wonderful." He kissed my forehead and we let go of each other. I glanced up at him and placed my hands on his cheeks, stoking them with my thumbs. Gippal smiled at me and he placed his hand over mine.

"Gippal... I want to get married." I froze for a moment, not quite knowing what possessed me to say that. I quickly brushed it off, however, when I realized that it didn't really bother me. It was the truth... I honestly wanted to get married.

"You... what?" Gippal raised an eyebrow and gave me a confused look.

"You heard me. I want to marry you. I've been doing some thinking, especially on the way here, and I realized that I want to marry you Gippal. I still think it's a little bit soon, but I believe in us. I believe that this isn't a mistake, and that I won't regret this."

Gippal smiled and gave me a long, sweet kiss. "I promise you, Rikku, you'll never regret it."

I grinned and hugged him tightly. "I love you, Gippal."

He just held me tighter and laughed. "I love you too, Rikku." We let go slightly and he bent down to me and our lips met in a long and loving kiss before we hugged each other once more, not wanting to leave the embrace.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rei standing next to the doorway, a huge grin plastered on her face.

We were finally going to be a real family.


	11. Wedding Plans

A/N: Yeah, I finally updated. I'm going to be honest- I don't really have any good excuses this time around other than the normal stuff, I'm just lazy.

Big hugs and thank yous to all my reviewers, and I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

oooo

The next week went by amazingly fast. I spent as much time as I could with Gippal, which wasn't much because he was, once again, pretty busy with work. He had informed the council that I had agreed to marry him and they stood by their decision to announce it to the public at the concert. After that, the wedding plans would begin and within the next week or so we would have to decide on a date so we could figure out everything else.

The pressures of everything were starting to seep in. We hadn't even officially begun planning anything yet but I could feel it coming, and Gippal's explanations of everything that had to be done didn't help much either. Given his status, this wedding would be big. Very big.

I had called Yuna the day after I accepted Gippal's proposal and she was absolutely thrilled to hear that we were getting married. She gushed on and on about how it was horribly romantic, even given the whole circumstances under which it happened. She then offered to help with the wedding plans, which I gladly accepted because I knew I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was never much of a girly girl, I was more like the girl who would rather play "fiend wars" with the boys than play dolls and dress-up. This whole wedding thing was not my field of expertise.

Yuna was delighted that she could help, and I knew that she absolutely loved this kind of thing. She then insisted that she come a few days before the concert so we could have some "girly time" to talk about the wedding and catch up on things.

I was cleaning up the bedroom a little bit one day when Rei came running in the door, saying something about Auntie Yuna being here. I followed her to the door, feeling quite confused. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to see Yuna grinning at me, luggage in tow.

I could only stare at her, dumbfounded, as she opened up her arms for a hug.

I laughed and hugged her as best I could. "Yuna... what are you doing here?"

"Surprise!" She giggled and let go of me, grinning wider.

"Why didn't you tell us you were coming? We could have met you at the hover." I was in complete shock. For one, it was a week before the concert, and two, Tidus wasn't with her!

"I wanted it to be a surprise," she said plainly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, "besides, I didn't come on the hover."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Brother was making some drop-offs in Kilika, and he offered to give me a ride on the airship. Knowing that I wouldn't be by myself was the only thing that made Tidus let me go," she smiled.

"Tidus doesn't know Brother very well, does he?" I laughed. "By the way, where is Tidus?"

" Oh, he's back on Besaid coaching blitzball. He's got one more practice to go, I think, then he'll meet us here."

"Oh," was all I could say. I was still a little shocked to see Yuna at my door. "You don't have to stand out there all day, Yunie, come on in!" I giggled and took her luggage for her, leading the way to my room. "I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to stay with me and Rei. We don't have that many rooms here."

Yuna just laughed. "Don't worry about it. It'll be like a slumber party, just like old times."

I rolled my eyes. "Slumber party? I wasn't aware we had slumber parties."

"Well, not technically, but we did sleep in the same room on the airship... and we used to stay up at night sometimes telling stories and playing truth or dare, right?"

"Um... yeah, I guess." I plopped her suitcase next to the bed and I pulled the air mattress out of the closet. "Hey, remember that one time we dared Paine to go out on the deck and do the chocobo dance in her underwear?"

Yuna paused for a moment, thinking, before her face lit up and she started giggling hysterically. "Yeah, we only got her to do it because we threatened to tell Baralai she sort of had a thing for him," she giggled some more, "that was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Her face was so red I thought she would explode. I think I took pictures, I should find them sometime."

"Good luck. I think Paine tried destroying your film or something," I laughed, then attached the air pump to the mattress. "You get the bed. I'm sorry to say that my housekeeping is still as bad as it used to be," I said, referring to my unmade bed and various clothes thrown about the room.

"Yeah, I can see that." Yuna said, grinning.

I looked up at her and shot her a death glare. "Meanie."

She gave me a look of mock hurt and gasped. "Stupid-head."

"Poopy face."

We both giggled again, and I noticed that my mood had drastically increased. Having Yuna here was definitely helping with the whole anxiety thing, and I decided that with her help I might actually be able to pull this whole wedding thing off.

oooo

I visited Gippal later that day and told him all about Yuna coming over. He was surprised but he was pretty happy about it. We both decided that we wouldn't tell the council she was here until the day she was actually supposed to arrive so that she would be left in peace for a few days. I wanted her first few days in Home to be as enjoyable as possible, even if that would mean she would be stuck in the house. She didn't seem to mind, however.

Later that night Yuna insisted that we have some "girly time," which I wasn't too excited about but I agreed anyway. I came out of the shower to find Yuna on my bed in pajamas, munching on an apple and leafing through a bridal magazine. I groaned and plopped down next to her.

"Say, Rikku, do you have an idea what kind of dress you want, or color, or anything?" She flipped the page over to a very lacey and elegant looking gown. "Ooo, this one looks pretty! What do you think?"

I frowned. "It's... kind of frilly. And it looks pretty expensive."

Yuna looked at me and frowned. "Rikku, honey, you're getting married to Gippal. You can afford almost any dress you want."

"Well... I guess you're right... but I don't really know what kind of dress I want."

"Well, let's start with colors. Would you rather have white, or something else like lavender?"

"Um... well, white I guess." I was still feeling pretty uncomfortable with the whole wedding thing. Normally I would be pretty excited with planning parties and stuff, and I had a lot of fun helping with Yuna's wedding, but with my own... well, it was just different.

"And do you know what kind of dresses you want the bridesmaids to wear?"

"Um... not really."

"Have you even picked your bridesmaids yet?"

"To be honest, I haven't even really given all this stuff much thought yet." I sighed and collapsed down on the bed. "Well, you'll be my maid of honor, and, um, Paine'll probably be a bridesmaid, though I don't know if we'll be able to get her into a dress again." I laughed, recalling the difficult time we had getting Paine into a dress for Yuna's wedding.

"Well, she'll have to wear a dress if she's a bridesmaid. Have you figured out any others?"

"Um... no... come on, Yuna, it's not like I'm buddies with a whole lot of girls. Lulu can be another one, if she wants to come here. I'm not going to force her, though."

"You should probably have more than one bridesmaid, Rikku."

I sighed. "Why? What if I want to have a small, simple little wedding? I'll just have a few of the close friends and family, it'll be nice."

Yuna frowned. "I know that's what you want, Rikku, but you and I both know that with you and Gippal's popularity it'll be anything but small. The officials will try and turn it into a big deal no matter what you try to do. But it'll be alright, because all of your good friends will be there, and you'll get to have the dress and stuff you've always dreamed about."

"But I've never had a dream wedding or anything. I never thought I'd get married."

Yuna laughed and flipped another page. "Oh, who would have ever thought that miss independent wouldn't want to get married?"

I picked up a small pillow and tossed it at Yuna, startling her and causing her to drop her apple on the floor. She looked down before glaring up at me, an evil grin spreading across her face. I put my hands up in mock surrender, and she laughed before tossing another pillow rather roughly at my head. I gasped, and picked up the pillow she threw and hit her with it. She grabbed another one and followed suit, and before we knew it we were engaged in an all-out pillow war, laughing and shrieking and being rained on by feathers that were swirling all over the room. Our fun was interrupted by Cid, however, who marched into the room and declared in a gruff, sleepy voice that some non-crazy people in the house were actually trying to sleep.

Yuna and I stared at each other for a moment before he left and tried to hold in our giggles until he got back to his room. We couldn't contain them for long, however, and before we knew it we were laying on the bed giggling like madwomen.

Rei entered the room a minute later, looking very sleepy and clutching her teddy bear. She had fallen asleep on the couch earlier and we must have woken her up. I smiled at her and motioned for her to join us on the bed. She unenergetically climbed up and fell back asleep again as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Yuna looked over at her and smiled. I had a feeling that she was thinking about her baby, and I let her get lost in her thoughts for a few moments before I finally broke the silence.

"Wow... that was pretty funny, wasn't it?" I whispered.

"Yeah... Cid must have thought we were acting like twelve year olds," she giggled, then covered her mouth quickly to suppress the noise.

"Well, we were kind of acting like it. And look at us," I laughed quietly and pulled a feather out of my hair, "we're a mess."

Yuna grinned. She had little feathers in her hair and on her clothes, and I helped her brush some of them off before working on mine, and then clearing off the bed. Every now and then we would start giggling again, for no apparent reason, and I really did feel like I was a young teenager again. I mean, it's not like I was much older than a teenager, being in my early twenties, but a lot of the time I felt a lot older than I really was. For the first time in a while, I felt really young and carefree again. Gippal made me feel energetic and young and confident in his own way, but with Yuna I really felt like I could be a teenager again.

"Well... I guess we should go to bed," Yuna yawned, "we can stay up all night talking about girly stuff tomorrow."

I laughed. "Alright. We'll make it a plan then."

I found it hard to find sleep that night, however. I stared at the moon for a while through my window as I moved around on the air mattress. After a while I could hear the sound of Yuna's gentle snores, and it was probably a few good hours before I finally drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

oooo

I blinked a few times but quickly shut my eyes again when they met the blaring sun. I yawned and rolled over to my other side. Ugh, what time was it?

Yuna walked in the room and glanced over at me, smiling. "Morning, sleepyhead."

"Morning." I yawned. "What time is it?"

She glanced at a clock out in the kitchen. "It's almost eleven. Rei wanted to wake you up earlier, but I convinced her to let you sleep."

I smiled. I couldn't remember the last time I had slept in that late. "Thanks. I'll be out in a minute."

Yuna grinned before going back out into the kitchen where I heard Brother talk to her for a few minutes. I sighed and slowly crawled out of bed, stopping in the bathroom before wandering out into the living room. Rei was sitting on the floor scribbling a picture, crayons spread out all around her.

Yuna sort of waddled over to the couch, her hand on her back. She really was getting pretty big, and I remembered that the baby was due in only a few weeks. She plopped down on the couch with the bridal magazine she had yesterday and I groaned.

She caught this and shot me a look. "Rikku, at least look through the magazine. I'm not asking you to make a final decision yet or anything."

I sighed and sat down next to her. She handed me the magazine and I flipped through it, listening to Yuna make comments on some of the dresses. I found a strapless white one that I thought was okay but I told Yuna not to get too excited yet because it wasn't final. She just shrugged and set the magazine down, only to bring out a pad of paper and a pencil. I looked at her funny and she just sighed.

"We need to write down a list of people you want to invite."

I groaned. "Do we have to."

"Yes. Believe me, you want to get this stuff done now so you're not worrying about it at the last minute."

"Yeah, but what's the rush? We're waiting until after your baby is born anyway, so it will be at least a month before the actual wedding. We haven't even set a date yet."

"I know, but contacting everybody and ordering everything takes time. Just work with me."

I groaned again. "Alright... we'll start with the obvious. You and Tidus, Paine, Lulu, Wakka, Vidina, Cid, Brother, and Rei obviously, then there's, um, Nhadala and... arrgh, I don't know." I sighed. "I told you I'm not very good at this."

Yuna helped me come up with some more names, mainly people we had met on our various travels, and people we thought Gippal would like to invite. He didn't have any family, so I just had to think of some of his friends. When we were done I had everybody I could think of, but I would have to run the list by Gippal to make sure.

Afterwards, Yuna wanted to talk about plans for the bridesmaids.

"You know, Rei is going to make the most adorable flower girl," she told me while flipping through the magazine again. "I'm sure we can find her a cute little dress and she can get her hair done and everything like the rest of us. It'll be fun." She smiled and looked at Rei, who had glanced up at us at the mention of her name. "You'd like to wear a pretty dress for mommy's wedding, won't you, sweetie?"

Rei nodded enthusiastically before going back to scribbling on her coloring book.

I visited Gippal that afternoon and ran the list by him. He added some more names but said otherwise it was fine. He was pretty surprised that Yuna had me working on wedding plans already, but he agreed with her that it was a good idea to get started early. I could only spend a few hours with him because he had to work again. The time with him was still nice, however, as that was the most time we had spent together in a while. Gippal promised me that things with work would get better once the concert was over and everybody settled down a little, and we could talk more about the wedding together.

It was a nice day out and we walked around outside together. Every now and again Gippal would stop to kiss or hug me, making me feel like a lovesick teenager again. It was turning out to be a pretty good week, and I decided that with Gippal's support and Yuna's help this wedding thing might turn out to be less stressful than I thought.

I was feeling so happy, and I kept trying to shake off this little voice in the back of my mind that said something bad was going to happen. I was just being stupid... I guess I just had this thing where I thought it was impossible for life to be this good. I was just being silly, I told myself as I held Gippal's hand and laughed as he kissed my forehead once again.

__

It's nothing... the voice will go away, and I'll realize that I'm just being childish. It's just a dumb feeling.

Gippal put his hand around my waist and pulled me toward him, making me giggle. I stood on my toes and gave him a quick kiss.

__

But if it's just a stupid feeling... then why am I so worried?


	12. Before the Storm

A/N: This chapter is kind of long and uneventful, but is needed to set the wheels in motion for the next few, which are definitely going to pick up. I thank all you guys once again for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy reading :)

oooo

I returned back home early that evening to find the house empty and dark. Confused, I scanned the kitchen and found a note on the table.

__

Went for a walk- be back soon.

Yuna & Rei

I sighed and put the note in the trash. I couldn't blame her for not wanting to be cooped up in the house all the time, but I was pretty sure that somebody would recognize her. Everyone in Home would know that Yuna was in town by the end of the night. It was the life of a celebrity, I guess.

I wondered if that was what my life would be like once I married Gippal. I hoped it wouldn't be like that, I didn't know if I could handle it. Yuna is a lot more nice and patient than I'll ever be.

I plopped down on the couch and glanced over at the magazine that was still sitting on the end table. I thought about going though it again out of boredom, but I decided against it. I had heard too much about wedding planning today already, it was starting to make my head spin.

Gippal had told me that we would probably start making serious plans for the wedding after the concert, which was coming up within the week. We would probably hold it here, because of Gippal being the Machine Faction leader and all, but we hadn't decided where we wanted to go for our honeymoon or anything. He suggested Kilika and that seemed an okay deal to me. It would be a nice place where Gippal wouldn't be recognized as easily, and we could get a little shack for ourselves on the beach.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone coming through the door. I saw Rei bound in first carrying a paper bag that looked to be about as big as she was. Yuna waddled in after her carrying a few papers.

"Hey, Rikku! How's Gippal doing?" She asked as she set the papers down on the table.

"Fine. Where'd you guys go?" I stood up and took the bag from Rei, who looked like she was about to fall over.

"Oh, just to the store and back. We got some chicken and rice; I've had the weirdest cravings for it since I've been here. Oh, and some pickles. Those too." She laughed and started taking things out of the bag.

"So, did anybody recognize you?"

"Yeah, but I only stopped and talked to a couple people. They had heard I was having a baby but I guess they didn't realize I was this far along," she giggled, "and a teenage girl scolded me for wanting to perform while I was like this. I told her that singing wasn't going to hurt the baby," she laughed again, apparently in a pretty good mood.

"So... are you going to go back to Besaid to have the baby?"

"Well, I kind of want to, but Tidus would rather have me go to an actual hospital. We'll probably go to Luca after we leave here."

"He worries too much. Lulu was fine having her baby in Besaid."

Yuna paused for a moment, and looked at me sadly. "Yeah... but you almost weren't."

I looked at her for a moment, then realized instantly what she was talking about. "Oh... sorry... I didn't mean to..."

Yuna just smiled. "Don't worry. I didn't mean to bring it back up, it's just... Tidus worries. He knows things can happen."

We were silent for a few minutes while we put away the food. I honestly didn't know what to say, it was one of the very few times I felt awkward with Yuna.

"So... are you ever going to tell Gippal about that?" She asked quietly before sitting down at the table.

"I will someday. It's just... with all this stuff going on, that's not something you just kind of bring up, you know?"

We were silent again. I glanced over at the papers she had set down on the table and grabbed one of them.

__

Kilika's Tropical Treasures

Fresh and beautiful flowers for all occasions

"Oh, and I grabbed those brochures at the store... This one in Kilika has gorgeous tropical flowers, I think that's the one I got mine from. There's another one about a huge flower place in Luca, although I've never been there."

The one from Luca was pretty thick, so I decided that I'd look through it later. Rei came running in the kitchen from the bedroom, a piece of paper in her hand. She handed it to Yuna, and it had a bunch of crayon scribbles all over it.

Yuna smiled gently. "It's beautiful, Rei. What is it?"

"Besaid," she replied simply, crayons clutched in her small hands.

"Well, it's very pretty. Thank you." She gave Rei a small hug, who then giggled and ran back into the room.

Yuna glanced at the picture and let out a peaceful, contented sigh. "It's going to be really nice having a child... watching them grow up... it's a beautiful thing, you know?"

"Yeah." I replied, my finger tracing a pattern on the table. What was I supposed to say to something like that?

"You're so lucky, Rikku. You've got a gorgeous, smart daughter who obviously loves both you and Gippal very much. I can't wait until my child can tell me they love me, or draw me cute little pictures," she giggled and looked at me.

I gave her a small smile. "Yeah, I am pretty lucky."

"And she's very lucky to have parents who love her as much as you and Gippal do. I think he would do anything for that little girl."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I smiled at her and chuckled. "I don't want to see what he's going to be like when she's a teenager, though. That poor girl probably won't be able to even talk to guys," I laughed and shook my head.

"How do you think Tidus will be if we have a daughter? I doubt Gippal wouldn't even compare to him."

"I don't know... I think they'll both be pretty paranoid."

We talked a little bit more about Tidus and Gippal before getting started on dinner. I didn't know where Cid and Brother were or if they were going to be home by then or not but we made enough for them anyway, figuring Yuna wouldn't mind leftovers for later.

She must have been right about having those cravings, though, because she ate the most food I'd ever seen her eat in my life. I didn't worry about it, though, 'cause I thought she could stand to gain a little bit more weight anyway. Cid and Brother never did come home that night, and the evening ended uneventfully with all of us going to sleep kind of early.

The next few days were pretty much the same. Since it was now known that Yuna was in Home, she went to a couple of meetings and was starting her rehearsals. There would be a relatively unknown band from Luca performing before her, and they were all very thrilled to be opening for the Lady Yuna. I had stopped by one of the rehearsals and I was pretty impressed by their music. It was going to be one hell of a concert, that was for sure.

Gippal was so busy with Machine Faction stuff plus putting together the upcoming event that Rei and I hardly ever saw him, and when we did I could tell he wasn't getting that much sleep. There were different issues that kept coming up that he had to deal with. He wasn't getting all that stressed, however; he was so accustomed to it as it was a huge part of his job. If I was him, I would have been pulling out my hair.

Before I knew it, the day before the concert came. Tidus had arrived that morning and he and Yuna moved to a nice hotel near Gippal's office. The crews were starting to set up the stage and the people of Home were beginning to grow excited. People from other parts of Spira had steadily been pouring in for the past few days and it was starting to get crowded. Everyone was excited to get the chance to see Yuna's first concert in a long time. She wouldn't exactly be able to dance like she used to, with the baby and all, but I was positive she could make the show awesome nonetheless. Paine was supposed to arrive later that day with some others from her new crew; she was the captain of her own airship now and was having an awesome time flying over Spira and doing jobs for those who would pay. She never was one to settle down in one place, I guess.

I took Rei with me that afternoon and we visited Gippal and Yuna at his office. Gippal was running around like a madman trying to fix all the little problems that kept springing up and making sure everything was getting done. Yuna rehearsed a little before she tried on her dress; it was black silk that sparkled amazingly whenever she moved, and even in her late pregnancy she looked absolutey breathtaking. I knew that the crowd was going to be absolutely captivated by her.

I was informed by Gippal that our little engagement announcement would take place after Yuna's performance. He said that we should probably try and look nice for it, so he was sending Yuna to take me shopping for a nice dress after she was done with everything. I didn't really want to wear a dress, but I caved in after Gippal pleaded for a while. It wasn't fair, though... he used the damn puppy face.

Cheater.

So a few hours later, I found myself in a place I thought I'd never be (well, at least not for a while): dress shopping with Yuna.

To be honest, I felt completely out of my league with the whole thing. I tried to remember a single time in my life when I had bought a dress, and I couldn't come up with one. I decided that I'd just let Yuna chuck a few dresses at me and I'd try them on or something.

She walked around for a while before tossing three dresses at me that she thought might look cute. The third one I tried on was a strapless baby blue dress that came down to around my knees; it was nice but not too overdone. Yuna and I both agreed that was the one, and Rei even said it made me look "bootiful," which got a laugh from a nearby employee. We left the shop and went back to the hotel room for an hour or two before we went to meet Paine.

She visited Yuna, Rei and I in Besaid about a year ago, and that was the last we had seen of her. She had been pretty busy for a while, but when we last contacted her she said things were slowing down quite a bit. She had been informed about the wedding so at least I wouldn't have anything new to tell her.

Yuna and I just talked and played a couple board games for a while; we were pretty bored. Rei took a nap, but soon enough we had to wake her up so we could go get "Auntie Paine." I didn't think Rei remembered her at all, but she was excited to go nonetheless. Ever since we had been here she had slowly started overcoming her shyness.

It was hotter than usual when we walked outside, and I felt kind of bad for Gippal who was probably running around the stage that very minute, giving out orders and fixing stuff, and I giggled quietly at the thought.

We got to the spot were Paine's ship was supposed to land and we saw that she wasn't there yet. We waited for about ten minutes before we could see it off on the horizon. It flew toward us at a pretty fast speed, and made a quick, slightly rough landing. As soon as it had touched ground the door opened and we could see Paine's smiling face in the doorway.

"Fashionably late as always, huh, Paine?" Yuna shouted and laughed.

Paine just smiled and stepped off the ship. I noticed she had grown her hair out a few more inches, but other than that she looked like the same old Paine. Yuna and I looked at each other and grinned before we ran off and enveloped her in a massive group hug.

"Hey, I have to breathe you know," Paine muttered sarcastically and we let her go, smiles plastered on our faces.

Paine stepped back for a moment to look us over. She scanned over Yuna and laughed. "Geez, Yuna, you could hurt someone with that thing," she said as she patted Yuna's large stomach.

Yuna gave her a nasty look which quickly turned into a grin.

Paine gave her a look back and then turned over to me. "You cut your hair some, but you still look like little Rikku."

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Little, huh?" I walked over to her, "could little Rikku do... this?" I grabbed her and pushed her on the ground, where we wrestled for a few minutes before she had me pinned. Damn... I thought I was getting better, not worse.

"Still crazy, I see." She laughed before she got up and brushed sand off her clothes. She looked over to where Rei was standing and smiled. "Wow... she's grown a lot. How old is she now?"

"Two. She'll be three in about a week," I said proudly before ruffling Rei's hair, causing her to giggle.

Paine's eyes widened. "I hadn't realized it had been that long since I'd seen you guys."

Yuna just smiled and grabbed Paine by the arm. "Come on, let's go back to the hotel and we'll catch up on everything."

Paine just rolled her eyes. "Do I have to?"

"Yes." I said and grabbed her other arm.

We started walking back to Yuna's hotel and Rei came up and clutched my hand.

"So... where are the boys?" She asked, referring to Tidus and Gippal.

"Tidus is helping out with the concert setup, and Gippal is, well, trying to run it," I snickered, "and if not too much else goes wrong you should see him tonight or tomorrow morning. We can visit them now if you want, but don't expect to get much of a response from him."

Paine only smiled slightly and nodded in agreement. She knew, probably more than anyone, how Gippal could get when he was focused on his work.

"So, is your crew staying here tonight?" Yuna asked.

"I don't think so. Dael was going to take over the captainship tonight and they are going to Luca to run a few errands. They'll be back by tomorrow night for your concert, though. They're probably more excited about it than I am."

"Oh. Well, I'd like to meet the people who travel with you."

"Why? So you can tell them embarrassing stories or something?"

Yuna just laughed. "So, are there any guys that you like on the ship?"

"Like? You mean, more than just friends like?"

"Yes."

Paine rolled her eyes and sighed. "No. Just because you guys are getting married and going all mushy on me doesn't mean I have to."

We all laughed and approached the area where they were setting up for the concert. "So... want to try and find the guys anyway?" I asked.

"Sure," Paine just shrugged. We walked through a small group of people before we spotted Gippal. He was standing on the stage, scanning over a clipboard and talking to a man standing next to him. Paine smiled.

"Gippal!" She shouted, but he didn't look over at us. "Yo, Gippal!" Still no response. Paine sighed and muttered something about things never changing. "HEY, FATHEAD!" She screamed, and Gippal looked over at us and grinned. He caught sight of Paine and said something to the man before jumping down from the stage. He walked over and they hugged, both of them laughing.

"Didn't expect to see you here today," he said after they let go.

"Yeah, well, took you long enough to notice us."

"Er... sorry." He rubbed the back of his head. "You know how I get."

Paine just rolled her eyes. "So, how's it going, daddy?"

Gippal gave her a weird look and shrugged. "Same old shit, I guess."

"Language, Gippal." I warned, and he glanced over at me. "Oh, sorry... I didn't know Rei was there. She's being so quiet." He laughed, and Rei ran over and gave him a hug.

Paine watched the both of them and smiled as Gippal gave Rei a quick kiss before setting her back down. "She looks so much like you, you know."

"Um, thanks," Gippal grinned mischievously, "I never knew you were the sensitive type."

Paine glared at him and punched his shoulder, making him wince slightly.

"Ow. So... uh... how're things going in the world of adventuring?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it adventuring. Most of what we do is pretty boring. But it's going okay... it pays the bills, anyway."

"Wow, you make it sound like it's pure torture." Gippal laughed, then glanced over at me. "Well, sorry to do this but I should probably get back to work before my boss has my head."

Paine's eyes widened. "You? Have a boss? No!"

"Yeah, the council leader. You don't want to get him angry, trust me." He walked over to me and gave me a quick kiss before wandering back to the stage, and I heard Paine make a gagging noise, causing Yuna to giggle and me to roll my eyes.

"So, Yuna, I hear there's going to be a party tomorrow night after the concert," Paine said.

Yuna sighed. "Yeah, as usual. I think we're taking an airship to Luca afterwards to go. They're going to see the concert too; they're having commspheres broadcasting this all over Spira."

"You know, Shinra must be loaded with gil by now," I laughed.

"Probably. We should try and get some out of him. We were the ones that helped launch his career, you know." Paine commented. "So, am I staying in the hotel or with Rikku or what?"

"We're all staying in the hotel. Tidus will probably be staying with Gippal and the other guys, so it'll just be us girls."

Paine rolled her eyes. "I hope that doesn't mean you want us to do each other's hair and makeup and stuff."

Yuna stuck out her lip. "Oh, come on Paine, it'll be fun! Won't it, Rei?"

Rei just nodded in response. I was pretty sure she wasn't really paying attention to what we were even saying; her eyes looked droopy and she was starting to walk a little slower. I stopped and picked her up and she rested her head on my shoulder.

"Awww, she's such a cutie." Yuna smiled and lightly ruffled her hair.

We made it to the hotel and got ourselves settled in; we were all kind of tired so we went to bed close to midnight instead of staying up and doing "girly stuff." Paine and Yuna fell asleep pretty quickly, but I was too nervous to sleep. I kept thinking about a lot of things, mainly how people were going to react to what we were going to tell them... I knew I shouldn't have been concerned with what people thought, but now that I was getting married to Gippal that kind of stuff was going to matter now. I wondered if I would ever adjust to people watching me and judging me all the time, like Yuna had. Does a person really get used to that kind of thing, or do they just get better at handling it? These thoughts flooded my mind as I was taken into a dreamless sleep, blissfully unaware that the next few days would only bring a living nightmare.


	13. The Concert

A/N: Yes, I know I took forever with this one. I haven't had much time to work on it because of school and graduation stuff. May 20th was my last day-Whooo! (dances) and I graduate on the 7th. I'm excited and hopefully I can have more time to write before I start working a lot more hours for the summer. (sigh)

I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

oooooo

I awoke the next morning to Yuna shaking me. Yawning, I rolled over and squinted at her, not exactly thrilled to find I had a pretty decent sized headache. She just smiled at me.

"Rikku, we have to get ready now. We're an hour behind."

"Hmm?" I closed my eyes and groaned. "How come?"

"Well, I think it has something to do with a certain someone who changed the alarm," Yuna glared over at Paine and chucked one of my pillows at her face. Paine just mumbled something and rolled over, going off the edge and hitting the floor with a thud. Yuna giggled and Paine said a few choice obscenities before her head appeared from behind the bed. "Paine... you changed the alarm, didn't you?"

"Maybe." She was giving Yuna "the glare," and I almost shuddered. Paine could look like a real scary bitch sometimes. "I didn't see why we needed to get up two hours before we had to be there."

"Well, I don't want to be late."

"What? You need two hours to do your hair or something?"

"Yes."

I sighed. "Yunie, they're just going to redo your hair tonight before the actual event. Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, stop being such a girl." Paine stuck her tongue out at Yuna, who threw her hairbrush at her.

We spent the next hour trying to get everyone dressed and fed, fifteen minutes of which was wasted trying to get Rei to decide what she wanted to wear and eat. When we finally got out of there we were twenty minutes late and I thought that Yuna was going to have a panic attack or something. She acted like she had never been late for anything in her life. Well, come to think of it, she probably hadn't.

We got to the office to find a bunch of men sitting in the lobby waiting for Yuna. A younger man smiled and shook her hand. "Welcome, Lady Yuna. We have to talk to you one last time before the show, if that is okay."

"Of course. When is the final rehearsal?"

"It's at noon. The dancers will be there as well as the band. You should probably bring the others who are in the ceremony so we can go over their cues as well." The man looked over at me and smiled. "Now if you will follow us, we will lead you to the conference room."

Yuna turned around and gave us a wave before leaving with the men. I looked over at Paine and giggled. "She has dancers?"

"Guess so."

I sighed. "Didn't this concert thing used to be a lot simpler? I mean, when it was just the three of us, we'd do maybe one quick rehearsal and then let Yunie just do her thing."

"Yeah, but she has dancers this time. And a real band."

"Hey, we're her dancers, remember?"

Paine glared at me. "I never danced."

"Oh yes you did."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

Paine sighed. "You can think whatever you want, but I did not dance."

Rei tugged on my hand. "Paine dance!"

"See? Rei even said you danced."

"What? She wasn't even there."

"Two against one."

"Her vote doesn't count, stupid."

"Hey, no name calling in front of the little one."

"You're her mother... I'm sure she's heard worse."

We pretty much wandered around aimlessly for the next hour or so, not quite sure what to do with ourselves. Home isn't exactly the entertainment capitol of Spira. I hoped to catch a glimpse of Gippal working, but to my disappointment I didn't see him. He must have been doing things inside or something. Rei entertained herself for a while playing with a few insects. It seemed like forever before Yuna finally emerged outside.

"Hey guys. Sorry it took so long, those guys talk way too much. I thought I'd never get out of there."

"It's okay. So, what's on the schedule now?"

"Hang out for a while 'til noon. Oh, and I saw Gippal inside. He told me to tell you that he's sorry he's so busy and he loves you and he promises he'll make it up tonight."

Paine just rolled her eyes and grinned devilishly. "Make it up how?"

"Paine!" I smacked her arm. "Not like that, you pervert!"

"Sure. Whatever you say."

I just glared at her. "So, Yunie, what's up with these dancers?"

"Oh, well, it wasn't my choice to have them, but they're pretty good. They'll be nice to have, even though I can't really dance much myself," she put her hand on her stomach and laughed.

"You know, when I was little I wanted to be a dancer. It would be so much fun to do that for a living."

Paine chuckled. "Well, I guess it's a good thing you're not one. In case you haven't noticed, you aren't the world's most graceful person. Hey... what do you do for a living, anyway?"

I stuck my tongue out at her. "I fix machina sometimes. It's not an everyday job, but it helps with the money."

"Sure."

We talked for a while longer and noon eventually came. Yuna led us to the stage where a few people were still making last minute adjustments to lights and things. There was a group of about five girls on the stage walking around and stretching and they smiled at us when we approached. Yuna introduced all of us and we quickly went through our cues. Yuna would do her thing, then she would introduce Gippal and he would come up and talk and introduce Rei and I. If all went well and we didn't have an angry mob on our hands, we would then answer some questions before the end of the event. Afterwards, Brother would be waiting with an airship to take us to Luca, and Cid was going to watch Rei for the night.

After we all knew what we were doing Yuna went up on stage and all of the dancers got in position. Yuna made sure that we were ready before she started to sing. It was a slow and powerful song that I had never heard before but I found myself captivated by it. Yuna was always a beautiful singer.

After she was done we all ran up and gave her hugs and told her how awesome it was. She just blushed and said that it was nothing. Typical Yuna.

We were so busy talking to her that I didn't even notice Gippal coming over until he ran up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I squeaked in surprise and he just laughed and twirled me once before putting me down and giving me a quick kiss.

"Hey, stranger. Haven't seen you in a while." I poked him in the chest and he gave me a look of mock hurt.

"It's not my fault I've been so busy. Blame Yuna, she's the one who agreed to this whole thing."

"I heard that." Yuna sent a menacing glare over at Gippal and he smirked.

"Ready for tonight?" He asked me while enveloping me in a hug.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

"Remember, you guys have to be here by seven so we can get all your girly stuff done. You gettin' your hair done too, Paine?" He grinned devilishly. "Am I going to see you in a dress?"

Paine made a loud snort noise. "What do you think?"

Gippal sighed. "I guess that means no. Well, I have to get going, but I'll see you when you get here, okay?" He threw Rei up in the air and kissed her before setting her back down.

"Okay." I kissed him before he left and I heard Paine make several gagging noises. I made a mental note to throw my shoe or something at her later when she wasn't looking.

We spent the rest of the afternoon mainly in the hotel room doing "girly stuff." I did a not-so-great job painting my nails, but Yuna helped me fix them up. She found it hard to believe that I could not remember the last time I had painted my nails or used any real makeup. Yuna even painted Rei's for her so she wouldn't feel left out.

"Just don't put any makeup on her, no matter how much she pleads with you", I warned Yuna, "Gippal will have a fit if you do."

She just laughed and shook her head.

oooooo

The time came for us to leave and we gathered everything together. We made sure we had the dresses and that Rei had all of the stuff she would need for tonight before we left. The air was surprisingly cool but the sky was still as bright as ever. We made our way to the office and a short woman greeted us before leading us to the hairstylists. They took our dresses and they sat us all down in these cushiony chairs (except for Paine, of course). A girl that looked like she was seventeen or so asked me how I wanted my hair done. I just shrugged and told her to do whatever she wanted with it. She smiled mischievously and for a moment I grew a little scared at what she was planning.

She got to work right away, pinning my hair up in all sorts of weird directions. I heard Rei giggle in the chair next to mine when she looked over at me. She was getting her hair curled and the woman looked like she was having a hard time doing it because Rei kept fidgeting.

Eventually my hair started to resemble something somewhat normal and she began to curl it as well. When it was done I saw she had tied it up into some sort of intricate design thing at the back of my head and there were strategically placed curls falling around my face. She had put some glittery stuff in it but I had to admit it did look pretty. Yuna's was a lot like mine but I thought the style suited her better. Rei's hair had been all curled up and there were a few flowers pinned in it. She looked absolutely adorable.

The same women did makeup for Yunie and me and by the time they were done I could hardly recognize myself. I, Rikku, actually looked somewhat like a girl.

We helped each other get our dresses on and I thought that Yuna looked absolutely gorgeous, even though she was eight months pregnant. Her black dress suited her perfectly and she just had this glow about her that could take your breath away. She made nice comments about my blue dress and said something about me having to dress up more often, to which I just laughed. Rei looked incredibly cute in her little pink dress, and I was helping her put on her shoes when a woman came in and told us that we had five minutes 'til showtime.

I quickly strapped on my shoes and silently cursed myself for picking ones with itty-bitty heels. They were a lot harder to maneuver in than I thought. I sort of wobbled out of the dressing room and we made our way near the stage. It was growing dark outside but the stage was lit up nicely in many colors. There was a large screen behind it and I knew that they were going to translate everything we said into Al Bhed on it so those who could speak nothing else would know what was going on. I peered at the crowd and gasped. There had to be _thousands_ of people there.

No stress, right?

Yuna found my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. She could tell I was absolutely petrified, even though I didn't have to perform or anything. Of course, Yuna herself seemed to be as calm as ever.

"Don't worry, Rikku, you'll be fine. They won't hate you."

I swore that Yuna could read minds sometimes. "Yeah... I hope not."

The crowd suddenly broke out in loud cheers and I saw someone walk up to the stage. It was Gippal, and he was looking pretty handsome in his new clothes. He hushed the crowd and grabbed the microphone.

"I would like to welcome you all here tonight and thank you for coming. I know many of you traveled far to be here and I can assure you that you will not be disappointed." The crowd erupted in cheers again. "Many people have worked long and hard to make this concert an unforgettable experience. I would like to give them my thanks and thank the Lady Yuna for performing for us tonight." More cheers and applause. "It is with great pleasure and honor that I introduce to you tonight the Lady Yuna." The applause became thunderous as Gippal stepped off the stage and the lights started to dim. The musicians flew out on their hovers and circled around the stage. The music started and cheers went out as Yuna stepped out onto the stage, smiling brightly. The dancers walked out behind her and got into their positions, although you could hardly see them in the darkness. Yuna grabbed the microphone and looked up at the sky for a moment before glancing at the crowd again. Everyone became silent as the lights suddenly appeared on stage and Yuna began to sing.

The whole concert experience was a blur when I look back on it. I mainly remember Yuna's gorgeous voice holding me in a wonderful trance. I barely felt Gippal come around beside me and put his arm around my waist. All of us just got lost in the song and the music and the dancing and Yuna's voice just swirled together into a performance that I would never forget. She looked so beautiful and stunning up there, singing her heart out, and I knew that Tidus had never been more proud of her before as he watched her with us.

The song finally ended, and there was a silence among everyone. It took a moment for the crowd to erupt in deafening applause and cheers and I suddenly grew nervous, knowing what was to come. Gippal whispered words of comfort in my ear and told me that I looked beautiful, making me smile.

"Thank you, Spira, for coming tonight." Yuna's voice drifted through the night, and there was silence. "It was a pleasure for me to sing for you. I can do a few extra songs if you like but first Gippal has an announcement that he would like to make." She glanced over at us and smiled at me. I was so nervous I thought I was going to puke. Gippal gave my hand one last squeeze before walking up on the stage and taking the microphone.

"Well, as many of you know I am Gippal, and I am the leader of the Al Bhed's Machine Faction." He cleared his throat and shot me a smile before continuing. "I would like to introduce two people to you tonight... both of whom mean very much to me. I would like to first announce my engagement to Rikku, daughter of Cid of the Al Bhed and cousin of the Lady Yuna."

He motioned for me to come up and I walked up the stairs, shaking. The crowd applauded and I heard many cheers and a lot of applause. Many people knew who Cid was and as of the moment it looked like they were pretty accepting of us... for now. I held Gippal's hand tightly and gulped.

"I would also like to introduce someone else. I hope that you will be as welcoming of her as you were of Rikku." The applause died down, and I could tell people were a little confused. Oh Spira, here it comes... "I would also like to introduce the daughter of Rikku and I. Rei, come on up sweetie."

Silence.

Rei walked up to the stage, looking positively frightened. Yuna held her hand and led her to us. I picked her up and she looked around the crowd before burying her head into my shoulder and clutching me tightly. I thought she was going to cry, and with all of the horrible and confused looks we were all receiving I didn't blame her. I just closed my eyes and bit my lip, silently wishing for all of this to be over as soon as possible.

I didn't pay much attention to what Gippal said over the next few minutes. He basically explained in a nice way that we had recently gotten back together and when the wedding would take place. I opened my eyes once or twice but each time I did I was greeted by a large sea of glares. I knew the Al Bhed were mad at us because Gippal was making the whole Al Bhed race look bad, and it's not like we needed any more people thinking we were horrible people. Everyone else didn't seem too thrilled either. I guess they just didn't want to think that Gippal and Yuna's cousin would screw up like that.

After what seemed like an eternity Gippal took my hand and led me offstage. The crowd had broken into whispers and I didn't even try and hear what they were saying. I didn't want to know.

Yuna said a few things that I didn't catch before starting another song, causing the crowd to go silent again. I walked backstage and sat down in a chair with Rei in my lap. I bit my lip to hold back the tears that I knew were coming.

Gippal sat next to me and enveloped us both in a large hug.

"Don't cry, Rikku... it's going to be fine."

"What makes you so sure? They all hate us, can't you see that? I ruined your reputation, and Yuna's, and Cid's, and the Al Bhed's in general. I screwed up, Gippal... I'm so sorry." I buried my head into his shoulder much like Rei had done to me, like a scared child seeking comfort. He just rubbed circles on my back and sighed.

"It's okay, Rikku, you didn't screw up. Everyone will be fine soon. They will accept you, they just need to be given time."

We just sat there in silence for a while until Yuna got done with her song. She came backstage with us and we heard the crowd dispersing outside. She gave me a big hug and told me pretty much the same stuff as Gippal. Although I had a hard time believing them, they did make me feel a little better.

We met Cid outside and Gippal and I kissed Rei goodnight before she bounced off and jumped in Cid's arms. She waved to us as he walked away with her, although Cid said nothing to us. He was probably horribly ashamed of me.

Brother was waiting for us with the airship and we walked on. He didn't say anything or even look at me as I passed... he must have hated me too.

My mood picked up a little, however, when I was alone with Yuna and Paine again. We were trying to pick out clothes for each other to wear to the party, and Yuna found a cute little pink dress. I picked out a jean skirt and a blue top, and I exchanged my strappy shoes for some sandals. We met Tidus and Gippal out on the bridge and we all played a few games of sphere break before arriving in Luca.

Brother had a horrible time finding a place to park the airship and despite my mood I had to laugh at him. It was like old times, watching him sit in the pilot seat, cursing in Al Bhed and shaking his fist to seemingly no one as he tried desperately to conquer the problem. We eventually found somewhere, however, and we were soon stepping off the airship and entering the amazing city of Luca.

It was not the first time I had been there but as I stepped off I nearly forgot to breathe. The night sky was lit up in an amazing assortment of lights and I heard people cheer as Yuna walked out. A man ran out to us and he led us to the building where the party was at. The place was part of a hotel and it was decorated beautifully. There was a large group of people dancing amid a storm of brightly colored lights in the center with tables laid out next to the sides. We all sat down at a table and after the song was done someone went up onstage and announced our arrival. Yuna went up and said a few things before coming back to sit with us.

"You really were awesome tonight, Yunie," I told her and grinned. "Too bad I couldn't be one of your dancers."

Paine made a noise that strongly resembled a snort before taking a sip of her drink. I took the little umbrella out of mine and chucked it at her face, nearly missing her eye. Paine just shot me a glare before sending her umbrella in my direction. I ducked and it bounced off Tidus' arm as he happened to walk by.

Tidus just rolled his eyes and sat down next to Yuna after he gave her a quick kiss. A slow, romantic-y type song began to play and he helped Yuna out of her seat and they went out to dance. I sighed and took a sip of my drink. I would have asked Gippal if he wanted to dance, but, well, he isn't exactly Mr. Romantic. We just sat there and chatted with Paine for a while and the slow song ended, being replaced by a fast, upbeat techno song. Gippal grabbed my arm and whirled me around, dragging me to the dance floor.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Dancing. You said you liked to dance, right?"

"Well, um, yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm very good at it or anything."

"Well, you have to be better than I am."

"Do not."

"Rikku?" He looked at me, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"What?"

"Just shut up and dance." He grabbed my hand and started twirling me around as I weakly protested. I glanced around and saw everyone else all clumped together, moving energetically. Quite a few women were dancing, well, not exactly kid-friendly, and I wondered if Gippal expected me to do the same. It's not like I could make my hips move like _that_... but I thought I'd give it a shot. You know, just mess with his head a little.

The look on Gippal's face was priceless as I moved over to him and started doing a horrible imitation of the other women. He must have thought I was pretty good at it, however, and I saw his eyes were drawn to my lower regions as I shook my booty with everything I had. He placed his hands on my hips and tried moving with me. Everything became a swirl of people and lights as I twirled around a few times. For some reason I giggled really loudly and Gippal bent over to whisper in my ear.

"You know, you're making me think dirty thoughts right now," he grinned against my cheek.

We pulled apart and I just looked at him and smiled. I felt a sudden wave of mischievousness come over me and I grabbed his arm and led him off the dance floor, giggling again. Gippal seemed confused but decided to play along with it. I passed Brother who was apparently horrifying some woman with his interpretation of dancing and it made me giggle harder. We eventually made it outside and the cool night air brushed past my skin, making me shiver. We made it to the airship and I entered a few numbers on a keypad, causing the door to open. We walked inside and I started giggling again.

"What is this all about?" Gippal couldn't help but laugh at me. I had to admit, I was acting really weird.

"Just come on." I led him to one of the spare bedrooms on the airship and Gippal was about to turn on a light when I stopped him. He glanced at me, confused.

"Rikku?"

"Gippal... I want you to make love to me." I slapped a hand over my mouth right after I said it, wondering where in the hell that came from.

He just grinned at me and bent down to give me a kiss that quickly turned very passionate. Before we knew what was happening, clothes were being strewn all over the floor in a desperate frenzy.

All of the tension, longing, everything that we had been feeling- we were letting it go. Even though it wasn't truly our first time, I felt like it was and that is how I'll always think of it. We weren't doing it because we were drunk or filled with teenage hormones- we were truly making love.

As I laid there that night, Gippal asleep and huddled next to my body, I felt like maybe, just maybe, things were going to be right again, that I could finally have some sort of normalcy to my life.

oooooo

Miles away, a small desert neighborhood awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of terrified shouts and screams. In that house, an older looking man lay motionless on the floor among the maroon liquid that was slowly seeping into the carpet. Next to him lay a small stuffed bear, a few dots of blood staining his expressionless, worn face.


	14. Numb

A/N: (gasp) I've updated already! I know, it's a shock.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I tried really hard to capture the mood and emotions and everything as best I could. Hope you like it, depressing as it may be. I know I almost needed a few tissues for this one.

A huge thank you for all of your kind comments and reviews! They make my day! (hugs)

oooooo

My senses slowly came to me as I awoke and the first thing I noticed was the sound of Gippal's light snoring. I felt his arm draped over my waist and one of my legs was entangled in his. Yawning, I opened my eyes and took in my surroundings. It was still pretty dark, probably in the middle of the night.

I stretched my body a little and yawned again. I untangled my leg and turned around to face Gippal, careful not to wake him. In the darkness I could see his messy hair flying in all directions, some of it plastered to his face. His mouth was slightly open, and I couldn't help but smile. He looked like a little kid when he slept, it was almost cute.

I closed my eyes again in an attempt to sleep again but a faraway noise caught my attention. There was someone talking in the hallway... no, there was more than one person. Their voices echoed pretty badly in the airship hall but I couldn't make out what they were saying. It sounded like they were walking pretty fast and before long I could hear them right outside the door. They paused there and quieted their voices for a moment before one of them knocked on the door.

"Rikku? Are you in there?" A hesitant voice asked.

"Yeah... Yunie, is that you?" I sat up on the bed, feeling really confused. Why did Yuna want to talk to me this late?

"Yes... can I come in?"

"Yeah... be there in a minute." I stood up and stretched some more before quickly picking my clothes up off the floor and putting them on. I walked over to the door and opened it and I had to stifle a gasp. Yuna looked deathly pale and a worried expression was etched on her face. "Yuna... are you okay? What's wrong?" I could see the shadows of other people outside the door but they weren't coming in. I took Yuna's hand and led her over to the bed. I heard Gippal start to stir next to me; all of this noise was probably waking him up.

"Rikku... wake Gippal up." She said shakily, looking at the ground. She couldn't meet my eyes, and it was then that I knew something was really, really wrong.

"Yuna... Yuna, what's wrong?" My voice was becoming shaky too. I was becoming very scared. I noticed Paine enter the room out of the corner of my eye, and when I glanced at her I saw she had the same worried expression as Yuna. This was not comforting me at all.

"What's goin' on?" Gippal mumbled and rubbed his eyes before yawning. He slowly sat up on the bed, a blanket wrapped around him. I looked at him, my eyes wide and afraid, and his eye grew wide as well when he realized that something was not right. "What's wrong?"

Yuna looked up to meet our eyes, her own holding back unshed tears. She cleared her throat and grasped my hand tightly. I could feel her hand trembling over mine and I looked back once at Gippal, who was also beginning to look very worried.

"I just received a call from the law enforcement agency in Home. They were trying to contact you, RIkku, but they didn't know where you were, so I said that I would give the message to you." She paused for a moment, biting her lip. She kept looking at her hand and frowning. "Someone broke into your house. They found Cid... he's hurt pretty bad, Rikku, and... Rei is gone. They can't find her."

An indescribably sick and horrible sinking feeling shot through my entire body and I fell back into Gippal's chest. I heard him take in a sharp breath and I vaguely felt his arms wrap around me. I could do nothing but stare at Yuna with my mouth wide open as her eyes met mine and I saw a tear roll down her pale cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Rikku." Yuna choked back a sob. She let go of my hand and stood up, brushing a few more tears away. "We have to get back to Home, Rikku. Come on." She held out her hand for me but I couldn't make myself get up. I felt so numb, I was almost unaware of Gippal squeezing me tightly and kissing my cheek.

"Come on, Rikku... we have to go." he whispered into my ear, but I barely heard him. I looked up at Yuna, my face still expressionless. I didn't know what to think. Was this some weird dream? Some sick joke? Was everyone just going to burst out laughing any moment now, telling me that it was a lie, that my father was just fine and that my daughter was safe, sleeping soundly in her bed?

No... this was real.

I was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming sick feeling and I had to place my hand over my mouth to stop from vomiting.

This was real.

"Rikku... Rikku, are you okay?" Yuna put her hand gently on my cheek.

I tried to speak, but it only came out in a choked whisper. I cleared my throat and tried again. "I... I'm... let's just go."

Yuna nodded. She helped me stand up and held on to my arm as we walked out of the room with Paine, leaving Gippal so he could get dressed. I glanced up and saw Tidus standing in the hallway, looking tired and worried. I gave him a small smile. We waited for a minute before Gippal emerged from the bedroom, looking as pale as Yuna.

Tidus glanced over at him and bit his lip. "Gippal... I know this isn't a good time but can you drive the airship for us? Brother is... he's a little bit too emotional to drive right now."

"I... I'll drive, then." He ran a hand through his messy hair and walked past us toward the front of the ship.

"You told Brother?" I asked Tidus, who nodded. "Where... where is he?"

"In his usual room, by the bridge."

"I think... I'll go see him." I walked slowly to his room, unaware of the concerned looks I was receiving behind me. I didn't know why I wanted to see him then, it's not like he had said much of anything to me the whole time I had been in Home. He probably would blame me for everything, and I had another horrible sinking feeling when I realized why this had happened.

This wasn't a random act of violence... they were trying to hurt Gippal and I.

It would be an absolute wonder if Brother did not want to murder me.

I decided to see him anyway, and when I reached his room I knocked on his door. "Brother? Can I come in?"

"Rikku?"

"Yeah."

He paused for a moment. "Alright." I heard him get off the bed and open the door. He gestured for me to come in before sitting back down on his own bed.

"What do you want?" He said coldly, looking at the floor.

"I just... um, wanted to see how you were doing," I replied, running my hand through my messy hair.

Brother snorted. "Oh, I'm doing just great," he said sarcastically, "never been better."

"I was just asking. You don't have to be such a jerk about it."

"What do you want me to say, Rikku? My father is dying. My last bit of family is going to leave me. I will have no one now."

I flinched. "So what, I'm not family now? He's _my_ father too, you know. My daughter is gone. How do you think I feel?" I was beginning to cry now, tears cascading down my reddening face in pain and anger.

"You and that, that Gippal are probably the reason for this... people hate us now! They want us dead, thanks to you!" He was standing up now, his face clenched in fury. "You both are a disgrace to the Al Bhed!"

I drew away from him, feeling as though I'd been slapped. "You don't mean that."

"Maybe I do." He collapsed back down on the bed and put his face in his hands. "Just go away."

"Fine." I sniffled angrily and turned around, storming out of the room in a rage. I nearly ran into Tidus on the way back to my room, and I apologized quickly before moving on.

I wanted to hate Brother, I really did. He said a horrible thing and I should have hated him. I couldn't bring myself to, though, because a part of me knew that however hurtful it was, what he said was true. They hated, us they have always hated us, and I just made it worse. My father was hurt and my daughter was gone because of me.

I reached the room and collapsed on the bed, pulling the blankets around me. I suddenly felt very cold and I shivered.

__

You both are a disgrace to the Al Bhed!

A small cry of anguish escaped my lips, and I buried my face in the blanket, sobs wracking my body as I shook violently.

I wasn't dreaming.

This was real.

oooooo

I must have lain in the bed for quite a while before Gippal came on the loudspeaker, saying we were approaching Home. By then I had calmed down some, feeling completely drained of tears. My face felt hot, and I pushed the blanket off with my legs. Yuna walked in the room and I must have looked horrible because she gave me a worried look.

"Rikku... we're going to go to the hospital first...to see Cid."

I nodded, rubbing my sore eyes before standing up. I walked over to her and she enveloped me in a tight hug, embracing me as best she could with her large belly.

"Just remember I'm here for you, okay? If you need anything or need someone to talk to, I'm here." She rubbed reassuring circles on my back and gave me a small smile when we parted.

"Thanks, Yunie." I returned the smile, although it probably didn't look very genuine.

"Of course. That's what best friends are for, right? Oh, and cousins." She gave a small laugh before taking my hand and leading me out into the hallway. "So... did you talk to Brother? How is he?"

I frowned. "He doesn't want to talk to me. He thinks all this is my fault."

"He doesn't mean it. He's just upset right now." Yuna squeezed my hand. "And I don't want to hear that you think this is your fault from you, because it's not and I know that's what you're thinking."

I gave her a small smile. "Okay."

We reached the pilot area and I saw Gippal finish parking the airship before he turned off the controls. He got up from the seat and press a few buttons before the ramp lowered and he walked outside, followed by Paine and Tidus. Yuna squeezed my hand again and we walked off into the chilly air. The sun was just starting to creep over the horizon and in a few hours the streets would be filled with people.

Gippal took my other hand and kissed my cheek. I gave him a small smile, trying to reassure him that I would be fine, that I was not on the verge of breaking like I thought I was.

We entered a small, quiet building with white walls. I remembered, vaguely, that the new hospital looked a lot like the one in old Home.

I only had two memories of my mother. One was of her singing to me when I was very young, although I cannot remember her face. The only other one is in the old hospital, the night she died. I remember standing on the floor at three years old, clutching my doll and gazing around in confusion and fear as many white uniformed people ran in and out, trying to save my mother's life. I vaguely remember the burns that covered her body and dad crying. Brother grabbed my hand and pulled me into a corner, and I thought he was crying too. I remember wondering why everyone was so sad right before a man told my father there was nothing else that could be done and he cried harder.

In that hospital, I watched Dad beg her not to go as he desperately clutched her hand. He told her he loved her, and I watched her take her last agonizing breath. Seconds later, he collapsed on the floor, overcome with grief and despair.

I wondered if I was going to have to watch my father take his last breath in this hospital.

I wondered if I was too late, if he had already gone. I didn't know if I could ever forgive myself if he was.

Yuna said something I couldn't hear to a woman at the desk, who then got up and led us to Dad's room. We came to a door and she hesitated before it, making me grow scared.

Was she going to tell us that we were too late?

"He was brought in with multiple stab wounds to the abdomen. He lost a great deal of blood but, luckily, he doesn't show any signs of internal bleeding. He got pretty lucky."

I let out a sigh of relief. He was going to be fine...

"However, he has lapsed into a coma, which we hope is only temporary. We've been giving him all the potions we can think of to help him, so all we can do right now is wait."

I looked down at the floor, biting my lip. He was in a coma... and there was a possibility that he would never come out of it.

"Thank you. May we go in now?" Yuna asked politely.

"Oh, yes, of course. I'll be right out here if you need me." The woman left and returned to the desk.

We walked into the room slowly and I glanced over at Dad. He had a blanket over him and his face looked extremely pale. He looked just like he was sleeping, and his chest slowly rose and fell with each small breath. I watched him for a moment, afraid for some reason that he would suddenly stop breathing. Gippal touched my arm and motioned over next to the bed where he had set a chair for us. I sat down on his lap and he wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.

"He's going to be fine, Rikku... he's going to be fine."

Yuna, Paine and Tidus walked over next to the bed and I saw Tidus give Yuna a comforting hug as well.

"I was hoping he would be awake... so he could tell me what happened, you know? Maybe... he might know where Rei is. He could help us find her."

"I know, Rikku." Gippal hugged me closer.

We all just sat there in silence for a few minutes, not quite knowing what to say. I couldn't tear my eyes off of Dad. He looked so pale...

"You know... we could go back to the house, and see if we can figure anything out. Now that we know Cid is okay," Gippal suggested. "Maybe some of the neighbors saw something. We could ask around."

"I'm staying here," Brother said quietly from the corner of the room, his eyes never leaving Dad.

I paused for a moment, not quite sure what I wanted to do. I gave Brother a small smile. "Alright." I stood up, slowly, before walking out of the room. It was so hard for me to leave... I kept thinking that if I left, he was going to die while I was gone. I would never forgive myself...

But then again, my little girl was still out there, and I had to find her.

The others followed and we walked out of the building, slowly making the way to the house. Gippal kept giving me reassuring looks and squeezes but I still felt afraid. I almost didn't want to see the house, not knowing what awaited me.

When we got there I noticed a couple of men standing outside the doorway, talking to each other. One had some paper and he was scribbling some things in it. I recognized him as Dad's friend that worked for Home's law enforcement. He gave me a small smile and walked up to me.

"How are you, Rikku?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"I.. I'm fine," I lied.

"How's Cid?"

"He's alright. We saw him at the hospital... he's in a coma, but he's alive. Brother's staying with him."

"Oh," he sighed in relief, "that's good." He paused for a moment to glance at everyone else before looking back at me. "So... do you want to see the house?"

"Yes," I said without hesitation. I did not want to, but I had to see. I had to know what happened to my daughter.

"Okay, if you're sure. Follow me, and try not to step on any of the areas that are taped off. They're evidence."

Gippal squeezed my hand tightly as the man led us in. The living room light was on, and I gasped when I saw the carpet.

There was a large blood stain near the couch, with a trail leading to and from it. I walked around the house, seeing red dots on the walls, the couch, the floor... Spira, there was so much blood... too much...

Gippal was breathing shakily next to me, and I could tell he was trying desperately not to cry. He was as disturbed by the blood as I was. I suddenly felt faint, and I dropped to my knees on the kitchen floor. Gippal went down with me and wrapped his arms around me. I could feel his tears fall on my shoulder and I knew he desperately afraid for our daughter.

"It seems that someone came to the door and Cid tried to keep them out. There are marks all over the door and the hinges are broken, indicating the assailant forced their way inside," the man explained.

I was crying now, my hands over my face, rocking back and forth on the floor. I distantly heard the others walking slowly across the carpet and Yuna let out a small sob.

"It appears that there was a confrontation in which Cid tried to get the man to leave. He was then stabbed multiple times and fell on the floor, over here by the door. It looks like he dragged himself a few feet over to this spot by the couch before stopping."

Oh Spira, he was trying to save her!

I sobbed louder and Gippal held me tighter, rocking along with me.

This couldn't be real.

"We believe he then took Rei and left. We do not know if he harmed her or not yet. The neighbors did not get a good look at the assailant; a few reported hearing Cid shouting and a minute or so later hearing a child scream. By the time they went to investigate they were gone."

I was suddenly overcome with the urge to vomit, and I stood up quickly and ran outside, gasping but nothing ever came. I collapsed onto the sand and put my face in my hands. I heard Gippal gasp inside and I looked over and saw him put a hand over his mouth, his eyes flooding with tears. I glanced at where he was looking and I saw it.

Rei's bear, Datto, was lying on the floor.

Gippal picked it up, gently, and brought it out to me. He placed it in my hands, and glancing at it I gasped.

On Datto's furry brown face, there were several spots of dried blood. I stared at it, expressionless, and the old bear stared back, eyes black and empty, dead, and I clutched it to my chest and I let out a loud sob of horror... of grief... of fear... fear that I would never see my daughter again.

I felt the world dissolve into nothing as Gippal cried next to me, collapsed in the sand, defeated, his hands clawing through his hair in agony. I crawled next to him and fell into his chest, sobbing, and I let Datto drop to the sand, his eyes staring back at me like he was peering into my soul, yet he was dead, he was nothing, he was dead.

He was dead... like me.

The agonizing emotional pain searing through my body dulled and gradually turned to a numbness, and I was cold, and I felt nothing.

There was no hope anymore... only numbness. Only nothing.

The tears stopped, and fainting, I collapsed on the sand, my world going black.

Only nothing.

And it was all my fault.


	15. Waiting

A/N: Wow, um, I didn't think it would take me this long to update, honestly. I lost my internet for a few weeks and I've been working a whole lot of extra hours at work so it's been hard to find the time to write. Excuses, excuses, I know. Well, in any case, the updates will come sooner from now on. Hope you enjoy the chapter. :)

to isley: Yeah, you're right- the ages don't add up. To be honest, it never occurred to my stupid self to do some research- I just kind of, er, made them up :) Thanks for letting me know- I'll fix it when I have the chance.

oooooo

A woman looked out of the dirty window, her eyes narrowed in thought. Dawn was coming, and a few tiny rays of light seeped in, revealing a floor of dirt. The place was becoming very hot even in the early hour of the morning, and she muttered a few obscenities to herself. He was taking too long. Not that she cared... she quite enjoyed not having him there, in fact. For once the place was peaceful. She just didn't want to be cooped up in that miserable place much longer.

Leana flung her long, braided hair over her shoulder and sighed. Where in Spira was he? She was beginning to grow worried. She sat down on a small wooden chair and put her face in her hands, sighing. What if something had gone wrong? If he had been caught... then she would be trapped out here. Alone. In the middle of the desert, miles from anywhere. It would be a miracle if someone ever found her.

After the first few months under his captivity, she had stopped hoping that she would ever be found. He was too strong, his threats too real... only a shell of the man she once loved. She still maintained a shred of hope, though, for sanity's sake. That was all she had left.

Not that it mattered.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his airship. Leana got up from the chair and sighed, glancing out the small window. She saw him step off the ship and when he got to the bottom of the ramp, he looked behind him and made a movement with his hand. A little girl appeared in the doorway, looking absolutely frightened.

A little girl? He said nothing about a child...

Confused and scared, Leana moved to the entrance of the shack, pushing away the tattered blanket that covered the opening. She gave him a small smile, as was expected of her. He wanted to be greeted when he came, and she stopped resisting months ago, knowing all too well what her resistance would bring.

The man walked briskly to her, his face covered with dirt, his clothes streaked with blood.

"I assume that you have made the final preparations, Lea?" His voice was deep, rough... poisonous.

"Yes, Ian. All of your things are ready to go."

"Good." He smirked unpleasantly and ran a hand through his horribly messy hair.

"Who is the girl?"

His face froze and he looked at her angrily. "Why does it matter to you?"

"You didn't say anything about a child when you told me about the plan. You were only to kill the old man, and nothing more."

"Well, the plan is changed," his eyes flashed in anger. "I was only there to murder the old fool, yes, but the girl ran in the room. Cid begged me not to hurt her. It was then I realized how much more I could hurt them, Lea, I should have thought of it before! I would take their daughter, their precious child, I would take her away, make them think she was dead!" He chuckled and rubbed his unshaven chin.

"This girl... she is Rikku's daughter?" Leana said softly.

"Yes. Her and that traitorous fool, Gippal's. They have paid for their disgrace."

Lea looked over at the frightened little girl. There was blood on her clothes, and she was sitting in the sand, shaking and clutching her nightgown. Lea couldn't help but notice how much she resembled a little Rikku, with her tiny nose and big eyes... she had Gippal's wild hair that was currently sticking out at all angles. Her heart hurt for the girl, and what her parents must be going through.

"You did not hurt her, did you? She's covered in blood." Lea sat down next to the girl and began to check for any sign of injury on her arm. She whimpered softly and shrank back in fear. "Don't worry, sweetie, I'm not going to hurt you."

Ian shoved Lea away from her quickly and spit in the sand. "I didn't hurt her. The blood is Cid's. When I tried to take her she just ran over to him and hugged him. I had quite a time trying to pull her away from him, but I got her." He walked inside the shack and grabbed his suitcase before walking back out. "Come on, we need to go. They'll find us if we stay here."

Lea nodded. "Do you plan to hurt the girl?"

Ian stopped and whirled around, giving her an icy glare. "I don't know yet."

"What about her parents?"

"I don't know, alright! Just get in the damn airship!" He stormed off angrily.

Lea looked down at the little girl and held out her hand. "Come on, sweetie." The girl just stared at her, unmoving. She realized that she must not understand too much Al Bhed so she repeated it again in the common language. This time, the girl nodded in understanding and stood up, holding Lea's hand as she led her to the ship. "What's your name?"

"Rei."

"Oh, that's a pretty name," Lea smiled and Rei smiled back. "How old are you?"

"Almost this many," she looked up at Lea, showing her three fingers.

Lea laughed. "Wow, you're a big girl. Well, my name is Leana, but you can call me Lea. That's what your mommy calls me. She used to be a pretty good friend of mine."

Rei's eyes widened. "You know mommy?"

"Sure do." Lea's voice lowered so Ian couldn't hear. "I promise I'll do everything I can to get you back to your mommy and daddy, okay? I'll keep you safe," she gave her a reassuring grin.

"Promise?"

"Promise." Lea led Rei up on the platform of the ship, where Ian was already beginning to start it up. She held the her hand tightly, trying to reassure her that everything would be okay.

She would make sure of it...

oooooo

I grew aware of voices around me as I slowly came back to consciousness. I opened my eyes slightly and I saw Gippal hovering over me, looking relieved.

"Spira, Rikku, you scared me," Gippal sighed and put his hand on my forehead. "You're sweating a lot. How do you feel?"

I squinted up at him, my eyes still adjusting to the bright overhead light. "Fine."

"Good. Do you remember why you're here?" He grasped my hand and stroked it reassuringly.

I frowned in concentration, trying to remember. I vaguely remembered sitting in the sand, crying, screaming, and then there was nothing. Then it hit me; Rei was gone. Dad was hurt.

It wasn't a dream.

"I... I passed out." Gippal nodded and kissed my forehead before standing up.

"You gave us quite the scare. The nurse said you would be fine when we brought you here, though. She said you passed out from shock, and that you just needed some rest. I'm going to tell her you're awake, okay?" He smiled slightly and ruffled my hair.

"Gippal... what's going on? How long have I been out?"

"Only a few hours. Yuna, Tidus and Paine are at the station. We're going there later, if you're feeling better."

"Have they... found anything yet?" I asked timidly and Gippal frowned.

"Nothing concrete. Just a few useless footprints. They're still looking around for anything we can use. The investigators told me that some kind of evidence was most likely left behind, it's just a matter of finding it."

"And how long will it take to find it?"

Gippal sighed. "I don't know, Rikku. It could be a few hours or a few days. I don't know." He ran his hand through his hair in frustration and frowned again. I could tell that he was feeling just as helpless as I was.

"So... all we can do is wait."

"Yeah."

I sat up and let out a frustrated sigh. I was never the type to just sit around and wait; I've always been the one to go out and take action, even if I was never fully sure if I could do anything. It looked like this time I had no choice, however. We couldn't investigate ourselves because we had no leads and nowhere to even begin looking.

I noticed Gippal looking at me from the corner of my eye. "What?"

"Nothing. It's just... I just wish we had somewhere to start looking. Something to start with."

"I was just thinking the same thing." I gave him a gentle smile. "I think I'm ready to leave this place, though. How's Cid doing?"

"Still the same, last I checked- that was about an hour ago. I told the nurse to let us know if anything changed."

I nodded. "Well, we're not doing much good just sitting around here. Let's go to the station."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just go." I got up off the bed and was glad to find that I wasn't dizzy or anything. I gave Gippal a reassuring smile and I took his hand as we walked out of the hospital. It was the only comfort we could give each other; little gestures to let us know that we were, in fact, still here and alive and breathing. We shared the same fears but we both had to believe, for ourselves and each other, that our little girl was still out there somewhere and that we would get her back. We gave each other all the reassurances we could, like hand squeezes and smiles and small hugs. This helped us feel less alone, less afraid.

It was the little things that would keep us going through the nightmare.

oooooo

When we entered the station I barely had time to look at my surroundings before I was enveloped in a bone-crushing hug by Yuna.

"You had us _so_ worried, Rikku!"

"Yuna... you're squishing me..."

"Oh, sorry!" She let go of me and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Any news?"

"They found some hairs in the house that didn't belong to any of us. They're testing it in the lab right now and hoping that the computer can match it up to someone."

I smiled. Finally, we had something to go on. Thank whatever-powers-that-be for Al Bhed technology.

"They told us not to get to hopeful, though. A match will only come up if whoever did this has their DNA on file, which most people don't."

My smile quickly faded. I knew Yuna spoke the truth; this technology had never branched out to include many people because, well, we did not often need it.

Sighing, I sank down into a nearby chair. My growling stomach reminded me that I had not eaten in quite some time but I knew I couldn't bring myself to eat. I wondered if Rei had eaten anything yet; if her captor had enough mercy to keep my child from starving, if indeed she was still alive.

I flinched. Of course she's still alive.

__

She has to be.

oooooo

We sat in that station for a good two hours, mainly in silence. Paine or Tidus would occasionally try and start up conversation, but it would never get very far before we lapsed into silence again. It wasn't necessarily awkward, and I know their hearts were in the right place. They were only trying to get our minds off of everything.

A few minutes after a failed conversation about blitzball ended a man came running down the hall and stopped in our room, breathless. We all stared at him and waited for him to speak.

"We... we've got a match."

Before waiting for details, all of us jumped out of our seats. Gippal shot me a huge grin before taking my hand and running after the others. We didn't get very far before we realized that we didn't even know where we were going. The man caught up to us quickly, however, and led us to a small, dark room that was filled with all sorts of computers and had two large projection screens. A woman sitting in a chair smiled at us as we walked in and an image began to materialize on the computer.

It was a man who looked to be around Gippal's age. He had short, messy blonde hair and striking large, green eyes. I had a vague feeling that I knew this man from somewhere, but I didn't know how I knew him, or who he was.

"So he's Al Bhed," Paine stated, her eyes glued to the image.

"Yes. His name is Ian, and he worked for the Machine Faction until a year and a half ago. He was fired from his job after he was caught stealing valuable machina parts. According to his file, he has not held a job since then and we have no information as to his whereabouts. He is not listed as living in this city or any other village in Spira, for that matter. It's like he just disappeared."

"Ian..." Gippal muttered. "Yeah, I know him. I thought he was a pretty good guy 'til he stole those parts. He was always real quiet, liked to keep to himself. Knew he was a thief, but I never would have thought... he would have..." his voice drifted off, and I gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"Well, in any case, it's a lead. So how do we go about finding this guy?" Paine asked, her arms crossed in a gesture of impatience.

"Therein lies the problem. We have no record of where he lives. If he had bought an airship within the last few years, it would show up on his file, so if he has one it is most likely stolen. He's not married and has only one living relative, a sister, it looks like." The woman squinted at the computer. "Although she won't be much help."

"Why?" I glanced over the woman's shoulder at the screen.

"She's currently residing in Luca, in a home for the mentally impaired. She's been diagnosed with so many things I don't know where to begin."

"Well, we should try anyway. I mean, she might know where he is," I stared at the ground, frowning in concentration. "It's a long shot, but even if we can't get anything out of her we might at least be able to find out if he's been to visit her, or something. Anything. It might not be much, but that's all we have."

Gippal sighed. "That settles it, I guess. We're going to Luca."

A commsphere suddenly lit up in the room, and we all glanced around at each other. The woman moved over to the chair and we all huddled around her. A doctor's face appeared on the screen, a large grin on her face.

"You guys might want to get over here... Cid's woken up."


	16. Just the Beginning

A/N: Huge apologies for the ridiculously long time before an update, I never intended for it to be this long. The death of two friends and the start of college really delayed the writing of this chapter. Sorry it took so long, but hopefully it was worth the wait :)

oooooooooo

I entered the hospital and jogged to the desk, completely breathless from running nearly the whole way there. Gippal was right behind me and he had to stop and bend over to regain some air.

"Rikku, I... know you are... excited but... we didn't have... to run... all the way... here, you know," he muttered in between breaths.

I just ignored him and glanced over at the receptionist. "Ma'am, we were told that Cid had woken up..."

"Oh, yes, we've been expecting you. Follow me."

I tugged on Gippal's arm and he reluctantly followed me into Cid's old room. Cid was awake, but he still looked really groggy. Brother was sitting in a chair next to his bed and I was surprised to see two officers standing on the other side. One of them walked up to me and smiled. He was tall, very tan, and had shoulder-length hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. He looked more like a wrestler than an officer.

"Hello, Rikku. My name is Gann, and I'm from Al Bhed Law Enforcement. We've been waiting for you. Now that you're here we can start."

"Start what?"

"Well, now that Cid is awake he can tell us what happened. We're here to write it all down so we can put it in the report."

"Oh... well, okay." I really didn't know what to say. I thought I would be able to talk to Dad a little before they started the whole police business up. I didn't know if I was ready to hear what he might say, but I had no choice. I was going to find out what really happened, whether I liked it or not.

"Cid? Cid, are you with me?" Gann hovered over his bed and waved his hand over his face.

"Stop that! Of course I'm awake!"

"Dad! He's trying to help you!"

"Wavin' his hand in front of me isn't helpin'!"

I sighed. _Dad is back to normal, all right. _"Let's just get this over with."

Cid grumbled. "Where do you want me to start?"

"Doesn't matter. How about when you got home?" Gann took out a pen and got ready to write.

"Oh, all right. I took Rei home from the concert while the kids went to their party thing. She took a bath and did all her stuff to get ready for bed. She was picking out a story for me to read to her when I heard a knock on the door. I told her I'd be right back and to keep lookin' for one.

"I went to the door and opened it a little to see who was there. It was an Al Bhed man with hair stickin' out every which way, and he was wearing all black."

"Did the man look like this?" The other officer handed a picture of Ian over to Cid, who glanced at it and nodded. "Yeah, that's him. Would recognize that hair anywhere. Kids these days, I tell you, they got messed up hair and clothes and _no_ ruttin' respect for anybody..."

The other officer and Cid glared at him. "As I was sayin', he was a crazy lookin' kid in all black. He told me his airship had broken a ways down and asked if I could help him fix it. Well, I normally would have, but this boy gave me a bad feelin' and it didn't help that he looked downright crazy. I told him that I was sorry, but I had to watch my granddaughter and that he should try asking my neighbor, 'cause he's real good with ships."

I went to shut the door but he pushed against it, trying to break it in. I slammed my body to the door and tried to push it shut while he went all crazy and started running into the door. I got it shut and was about to lock it when he kicked it, knockin' it clear to the floor and pushin' me back. I punched him in the stomach and he doubled over. Rei came running in 'cause of all the noise and I turned around and yelled at her to stay in her room. That's when he first got me with the knife, and I turned around and punched him in the face, knockin' him on the floor. Rei started cryin', and I was about to start runnin' to a commsphere but the guy tripped me and I fell too, right next to the couch. He rolled over and stabbed me a couple more times, and I gave 'im a good kick in the ribs before he got up."

Cid stopped and closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed. "He stood up and started wavin' his knife all around like the crazy man he was. He told me that I had to die. Said somethin' about a revolution, that if it was gonna happen me and some others had to die. He said it was the only way."

"A revolution? Did he say anything more?" Gann asked, obviously curios.

"No. He just kept goin' on about 'the revolution that will change all Al Bhed,' and that he was gonna be leader 'cause it was his rightful place from the start. He wouldn't tell me anything more about it. Just kept telling me I had to die, and he was sorry 'cause he always admired me or somethin' but I had to die."

Cid took another deep breath and rubbed his forehead, as if he had a headache. "I tried to get up but he hit me in the face and I fell back down, where he felt he had to stab me again. Rei ran over, holdin' her bear and cryin' and telling the man not to hurt her grandpa no more. She hugged me and told me she was gonna call the doctor for me but the guy told her no one was callin' anybody. He looked at Rei for a minute, then got this big old grin on his face like he just thought of somethin'. He walked over, and... he just grabbed her."

I could feel Gippal's hand tightly squeezing my own, and the room went deathly quiet. Cid looked like he was about to cry, but he kept on going.

"I yelled at him to bring her back, that she had nothin' to do with any of this and it was between me and him. He just smiled and got up all close to my face, and told me that it had everything to do with her. He told me he was sorry before he stabbed me one last time and he headed out the door. Rei dropped her bear and started screamin' but the guy put his mouth over her face and walked away. I started crawlin' on the floor to the doorway but the man turned around and told me if I alerted anybody he would kill her. So I waited until he left and I started feelin' real woozy and out of it 'cause of all the blood loss. I don't know why, but I turned back over to the couch and started crawlin' to the bedroom. I kept grabbing the walls and I don't remember much else 'cause that's about when I passed out."

"Did you see where the man walked off to?"

"Oh... I think it was west of the house, off to the horizon. He looked like he was goin' off into the desert."

"He must have had a spaceship waiting, then. I doubt he would just walk into the middle of the desert. Did he happen to say anything at all about where he was from, or where he might be going?"

"No."

The room grew awkwardly quiet again as everyone became absorbed in their own thoughts. I was faced with the realization that, once again, we were stuck and had nowhere to go.

"So what can we do?" Gippal glanced over at Gann, his face worried. "I mean, there has to be something... "

"We can start by sending out Ian's file to other stations in Spira and ask them to look for him, if they can. But this will mainly be in our hands."

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Gippal grabbed my hand and I mouthed a goodbye to Cid before we left, although it looked like he was already asleep.

When we got to the station, we found everyone else still waiting for us in the lobby. Yuna was sitting on a couch next to Tidus, who looked asleep. Paine looked up from her coffee and yawned.

"How's Cid doing?" Yuna asked, shrugging Tidus off her shoulder and standing up.

"Fine. Tired, but fine."

She embraced me in a tight hug and I could hear her smile. "So, did you find out anything?"

"No. The officer is going to talk to the other stations, though. Hopefully we'll be able to find this guy."

"Yeah. Don't worry, Rikku, it will be fine." She hugged me again and pushed a strand of hair off my face. "Let's go watch them talk to the other stations. Maybe somebody has seen him already."

She took my hand and Gippal and the others followed as Gann led us into a small room with a large commsphere in the middle of a table. We all gathered around it.

"I thought we'd try Luca first, then make our way down to the smaller towns." He pressed a few buttons and a large screen of static slowly materialized into a police station, much larger than the one in Home. There were many people walking around and everything looked so rushed and busy.

A young and pretty receptionist rolled her chair over to the screen, and smiled. "Thank you for calling the Luca Law Enforcement Agency. How may I help you?"

"Hello, this is Gann from the Al Bhed agency. May I speak with Chief Officer Derric?"

"My, that's quite the crowd you have, sir," the lady smiled, then looked over at Yuna. "Goodness, is that the Lady Yuna? You look absolutely _stunning_ today."

"Um, thank you," Yuna blushed. After all of these years, she still was easily embarrassed.

"Yes it is. But that's not why I'm calling... can I please speak with the Chief?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir- he's really busy at the moment, handling a high profile murder case, you see..."

"Who is it?" A old man's voice echoed from off the screen.

"It's an officer from the Al Bhed agency who wants to speak with you, sir. But I told him..."

"I'm not busy right now. I'll take it from here, thank you."

"Oh, okay. It was a pleasure seeing you, Lady Yuna." The woman smiled and she rolled off the screen. A gruff looking man soon replaced her. He had short, graying hair and his face looked tired and worn. He grinned slightly when he saw Yuna.

"My, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Nice to see you again, Derric." Gann said sternly, and Derric's eyes moved away from Yuna.

"Well, yes. It's been a while... the stations haven't needed to communicate as much without Sin or the New Yevon and Youth League situations anymore, you see. Not much going on nowadays."

"Yes, but I would like to ask your help in a case I'm working on. I'm faxing the file over to you right now." Gann held up Ian's picture, and Derric raised his eyebrows.

"This man's name is Ian. He is wanted for the attempted murder of Cid of the Al Bhed and the kidnapping of a two year old girl, Cid's granddaughter, and daughter of Gippal of the Machine Faction. We believe he may have left Al Bhed territory and is going somewhere unknown in a stolen airship."

"And what do you want me to do, Gann?"

Gann frowned. "Well, I was hoping you could just hand his picture out to some of your officers. Be on the lookout for him, you know. If we find out what airship he has we will let you know."

Derric laughed and rubbed his forehead. "And why would I do that?"

Gann opened his mouth, stunned. "Excuse me, sir?"

"I'm busy. I've got a very important murder case right now, dealing with a very prominent man in Luca and all of Spira is watching. I don't have time for this junk."

"Junk? Sir, I know you are busy, but this won't take long and..."

"I'm not going to deal with this, Gann. I don't have time to deal with your little Al Bhed problems right now. Go... I don't know, fix up a machina scanner or something and find it, that's what you people do, isn't it? I'm sure he's hanging out in that little godforsaken desert of yours somewhere."

"But... but you've never had problems helping me before. When Sin..."

"When Sin was around, it didn't just involve your little Al Bhed tribe. It involved me, and all of Spira, because Sin was everybody's problem. Now this is your problem. One extra crazy Al Bhed don't mean nothing to me."

"Derric, if you could only..."

"ENOUGH!" Derric had stood up and slammed his fists onto the table, causing papers to fly around the desk and nearby people to stare. "I already told you I don't give a damn about your case. I thought you were a good guy, Gann. Smart, especially for your kind. Turns out you don't know when to back the hell off. Don't call me again unless it directly concerns me, you hear?"

The screen turned to static again, and there was silence.

Gann looked like he was trying very hard to keep his composure, as was everyone else in the room. I could feel Gippal almost shuddering with anger at the way this man was treating us. To him, we were garbage. We were just another little "Al Bhed problem," and nobody cared.

Yuna was the first to speak. "How could he say those things? I thought... nobody really talks like that anymore, do they? People have changed..."

Gippal shook his head and bit his lip. He looked at the ground and ran his hands through his hair, obviously distressed. "Some things never change, Yuna."

oooooooo

Lea sat in the passenger seat of the airship, mindlessly braiding a few strands of hair. The sun was pouring through the large window and the heat was starting to become uncomfortable. Ian wasn't about to waste any fuel on climate control, however. She sighed and twirled her chair around to face Ian.

"When are we going to reach Kilika?"

"I don't know. An hour or two, maybe. Why do you care?"

"Just wanted to know. Why are we going, anyway?"

"Taking care of some business."

"Is it just you going?"

"What do you think I am, stupid? I'm not going to leave you here with the ship. You'll run off with it."

Lea sighed. "Well, we'll have to get some good clothes for the girl. She can't go around Kilika walking around like a blood-soaked mess, you know. Might draw some unwanted attention."

Ian grumbled. "Find her something to wear, then."

"I don't carry toddler clothes with me."

"THEN MAKE SOMETHING. And stop talking, you're pissing me off."

Lea sighed and got up out of her chair. She wasn't very enthusiastic about her sewing skills, but she'd have to throw something together for Rei in a couple of hours.

She walked to the back of the ship by the bathroom and opened up a closet. She searched through piles of towels and sheets in hopes of finding some kind of fabrics or something, but she didn't find any.

__

Great, looks like she's wearing a sheet.

Lea grabbed a Lilac sheet and in another drawer took out some scissors, a sewing needle and some thread. She entered her room, where Rei was sitting on the floor and staring at the carpet.

"Hi, sweetie. We're going to be in Kilika in a little while, so we should get you cleaned up, okay? How does a nice bubble bath sound?"

Rei looked up at her and grinned. "Lots of bubbles?"

Lea laughed. "As many as you want." She watched as Rei happily jumped up and ran for the bathroom, almost running into the door in the process. She grabbed the bubble solution off the desk and walked into the bathroom, grateful for the tiny luxuries the stolen ship had given them. She started filling up the tub and Rei watched with happiness as the pink bubbles filled the tub.

"Toys?"

Lea frowned. "No, I don't have any bath toys, sweetie. But you can watch me make your dress, if you want. I know it's not as fun, I'm sorry."

Rei didn't seem to mind. As soon as the tub was done filling Lea helped her in and wasted no time in washing her hair. Bath time went quickly but she still managed to get a decent sheet-dress done. Lea thought the ankle length, sleeveless dress looked kind of lopsided but it would have to do. She got her dressed and was brushing her hair when Ian busted in the room.

"I just thought of something. You need to cut her hair. Some people might be lookin' for her. Oh, and we're almost there, so when you're done get out in the cabin and we'll leave. Be quick."

He shut the door and Rei looked up at Lea sadly. She could tell she didn't want to get her hair cut.

Lea gave her a reassuring smile. "I know you don't want to cut your hair, Rei, but you have to, or else he'll be mad. Besides, it'll grow back. And I'll style it really nice and pretty for you."

Rei seemed to understand, because she climbed up on the small stool and covered her eyes, as if she didn't want to look. Lea smiled sadly and grabbed the scissors. She knew her hair cutting skills weren't great, but by the time she was done she had Rei's new chin length hair looking pretty even. She even tried doing layers, and Rei seemed to approve. She found a little flower hair clip and pulled back some of her hair.

"Alright, we should be going now, sweetie. Remember, no matter what happens, don't say anything, okay? Even if somebody asks you a question. Ian will get mad at you if you say something you shouldn't, and then it'll be hard for your mommy and daddy to find us because he will keep us hidden. Do you understand?"

Rei nodded. Lea was astounded at how smart this little girl was. She seemed to be perfectly aware of what she had to do, and it put Lea's mind more at ease.

They stepped into the cabin and Ian was waiting, cleaning his knife. When he saw them he grumbled impatiently and then stashed it in his bag.

Lea stopped in her tracks. "What are you doing with that? I thought you were meeting somebody."

Ian stared impassively at her and opened the door to the airship. "I told you, taking care of some business."

"What business?"

"MOVE."

Lea walked out of the airship and into the sunlight. Kilika was as beautiful as ever, but the tranquil scenery was doing nothing to settle the knots that were forming in her stomach. Taking care of business was never a good thing with Ian.

They walked across the long docks in silence as the citizens of Kilika bustled around them. Rei looked longingly at a group of children laughing and chasing a dog across the beach, and Lea's heart ached for her. Ian was getting weird looks every now and then, and she wondered why he would go to Kilika, of all places. Was he out of his mind? This place was a small community, and they would immediately take notice of an outsider, especially one with an airship.

They weaved through a few more paths until they reached a small, grassy hut on the water. Ian just walked right in the home and they followed. An Al Bhed man was sitting at a small table and holding hands with a young Kilika woman. He looked up at Ian with surprise.

"Ian... um... what an unexpected pleasure. Can I help you?" There was fear in the man's voice, and Lea grew immediately scared.

"Aydan, who is it?" The woman asked, confused.

"Aydan?" Lea smiled. "I didn't recognize you. It's Lea, remember?"

He glanced at her for a moment, and grinned. "Yes, I know you. How could I forget my first girlfriend?" He chuckled. "Wow, you've changed. Look at you, you're as pretty as ever." His gaze wandered over her, and Lea blushed. "This is Kaila, my fiancé. Is Ian your guy now? And you didn't tell me you had a daughter..."

"Look, this is all very touching, but I don't have all day. I have to talk to you, Aydan. Alone." Ian interrupted, his voice full of irritation and impatience.

"Whatever you have to say, you can say it in here. In front of everyone."

"No, I can't. Don't make this harder than it has to be." Ian opened his bag and took out his knife.

"You're the one who is making this difficult, Ian. I don't even know what this is about." Aydan's eyes wandered over to the knife, and he hovered protectively over Kaila.

"Oh, but you do know." Ian grabbed him by the neck and pushed him up against the wall. Aydan started to struggle but he soon stopped when the knife was placed against his neck.. "You were interrogated by the police. And you gave them some information... information you were supposed to keep secret. So now you're hiding here like a coward, hoping I wouldn't find you."

"I... I don't know what you're talking about," Aydan choked out, glancing over at Kaila who was watching in fear and horror.

"Yes, you do. You told them about the project, three months ago, did you not? It's on file somewhere, and they're going to figure it out soon enough. They're going to connect it back to me, and then all will be ruined. I trusted you, Aydan, and you betrayed me, like a coward. And you know where betrayers go, my friend?"

Aydan glanced over at Lea, and gave her a desperate pleading look. Like she could do anything.

He looked over at his fiancé, his eyes wide and desperate. He knew what was coming, and a moment passed where he had a faraway look, like he was seeing his life flash before him... or maybe what his life could have been. Tears streaked down his cheeks and he let out a choked sob.

"I'm so sorry, Kaila, I love you..."

"WHERE DO BETRAYERS GO, AYDAN?" Ian thundered, his voice deafening in the small hut.

"I love you...so much..." he was crying desperately now, sobbing, and Kaila held out her arms as if she wanted to grab him but Lea stopped her.

"WHERE DO THEY GO?"

"Please... please don't hurt her..."

"MY PATIENCE IS GONE, AYDAN. WHERE DO THEY GO?"

Aydan looked over at Ian, then back at his fiancé, giving her one last look of desperation. "For...forgive me, Kaila, I..."

"THEY GO TO HELL, AYDAN, TO HELL!"

And in one swift, merciless motion, the knife cut through Aydan's throat and he sputtered, falling to the ground with a loud thump. Kaila screamed out in horror and jumped over to his body, throwing herself over him. Ian grabbed her by the hair and threw her back against the wall before stabbing her once, near her lungs, and she cried out in pain and despair.

Lea rushed over to Aydan's body and turned it over. His face was expressionless as the life drained from his body and spilt on the wooden floor. She whipped around and faced Ian. "Why did you have to kill both of them? WHAT DID SHE DO TO YOU?"

"Leave no witnesses, Lea. She would have told the police."

"And what did Aydan do to you? WHAT DID HE DO?" Lea screamed desperately, completely forgetting about little Rei huddled in the corner and absolutely frightened.

Ian walked over to Lea and struck her hard across the face, sending her reeling to the floor. "Quit making so much damn noise! And you heard me, he betrayed me. Just because you were once his whore doesn't make him worth anything to me. Now clean up, you can't walk out in there covered in blood. Oh, and let this be a reminder of what happens to people that betray me. Remember."

And with that, Ian walked out the back door and onto the beach, wiping his knife off with a piece of cloth as he went and humming.

Lea let the tears fall as she glanced over at Aydan's expressionless body. He was no longer breathing, and his eyes remained wide and open to the world. Lea sighed and shakily closed his eyelids with her fingers.

She got up and went to the bathroom, washing the blood from her hands and arms. Even after it was visibly gone, Lea still felt it on her skin. She felt it with her when she walked out and picked little crying Rei up in her arms, rocking her gently.

"Shhh... sweetie... it's okay... it's going to be fine," she whispered as the sobs escaped her lips, "it's going to be okay." But Lea had her doubts.

With a silent prayer for Aydan and Kaila she walked out the back door and into the unforgiving sun. And as Rei cried desperately, frightened, clutching her shoulder, the feel of blood still strong on her hands, she knew that it was far from over.


	17. Getting Closer

A/N: What can I say- college and work really don't leave much free time, so fanfiction hasn't been my priority lately. I haven't abandoned it completely, however, and I want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing and if you're still interested in this story after all this time, many hugs for you. It really means a lot to me to hear that there are still people enjoying this thing after so long.

oooooooooo

I glanced outside the hospital window and noticed the sun was beginning to set. After the incident at the police station, Gippal and I went back to the hospital. We talked with Cid for a while before he drifted off to sleep. He asked us how the search had been going, and we told him about Ian, but left out the part with Derric and the Luca office. It wouldn't do any good to tell him, it'd just get him all worked up and mad when he needed to rest.

Gippal had been silent most of the time. He looked like he was thinking very deeply about something. He had dark circles, making him look much older than he was. And to think it had only been one day since Rei had gone... it really felt like an eternity.

Paine, Yuna, and Tidus had stayed behind at the police station. Yuna told us that as soon as anything came up, they'd let us know... it had been a few hours since then. My stomach growled, reminding me of my recent lack of food. I couldn't eat, though. Not when my baby was out there... I wondered if her captors would be kind enough to keep her from starving. I wondered where she would be sleeping tonight, if she slept at all.

My train of thought was interrupted by the sound of heavy boots on tile approaching the room. I glanced over at the doorway in time to see Paine enter.

"We've got a possible sighting. Come on, there's a 'ship waiting outside."

This seemed to break Gippal out of his trance, and before I knew it we were out of the hospital and getting on the law enforcement airship. It was fairly small inside, and the five of us plus the officers made it pretty crowded. I waited until the noises of the 'ship taking off had subsided to speak.

"Paine... where did they see him?"

"Kilika. An old woman saw him leaving a house with a young woman and a little girl. She talked to the authorities there, who then contacted us. Gann had sent the warning out about Ian to them a few hours ago so they knew we were looking for him."

"Leaving the house? So they're gone?" I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice.

Gann sighed. "Probably. But we're going to investigate, anyway. It might help us determine where he's going next."

"I wonder who that woman is with them," Gippal said, his voice hoarse. "And what they were doing in Kilika, of all places?"

Gann paused, then glanced at the floor. "The woman who saw him went to check on the house after they left. Said the guy was yelling and creating such a ruckus she wanted to make sure everything was okay with the homeowners, since she knew them." He paused again and sighed. "She found her neighbors' bodies inside the house. They had been murdered."

In that moment I was hit with such a shock that it felt as if all my air escaped my lungs, and I gasped. My fears were beginning to be realized. This man was more than capable of attempted murder, as the attack on Cid proved. But to hear about him actually succeeding in murder made me literally sick. This man was truly a ruthless killer, and he had my daughter.

"What was the victims' connection to Ian? Why would he... do that to them?" Gippal asked.

"I'm not sure," Gann replied. "The male victim's name is Aydan. I'm having his name searched on our database and if anything of importance is found, we'll be contacted."

The ride to Kilika was long and filled with an awkward silence. Why, of all places, would Ian go to this peaceful little island? The citizens of Kilika have put up with so much suffering in the past, mainly during the time of sin and, afterwards, the whole civil unrest between New Yevon and the Youth League, and now they were just looking for some peace. Maybe that's what Aydan was there for; just looking for a simple, peaceful life. Either that, or he was hiding from something...

The glow of the commsphere prevented me from expanding on my thoughts. Gann glanced down at it and grinned. "You found something?"

"Yes, sir. Something very interesting," the female officer grinned. "Aydan made a visit to our station about six months ago. He wanted to talk to us about a man and a project that he refused to name. Said he was afraid for his life if he did. Anyway, there was this group he was a part of. Once again he refused to name it, but he said that they were a group for the advancement of the Al Bhed. He gave us vague details about how they formed a few years ago as a simple, peaceful group, dedicated to the fight against Al Bhed discrimination. Aydan thought it was a good cause, but he was a little put off at how the leader insisted on keeping their existence completely secret. Despite this, he was a good friend of the leader, so he joined. After a few months, the meetings began to include mentions of violence against the non Al-Bhed. Aydan said the leader started talking crazy, about how peace wasn't going to work and if the Al Bhed were to regain their rightful place in the world as its leaders, then violence against anyone not in support of complete Al Bhed rule would be necessary in order to ensure and maintain their domination."

The officer was silent for a moment, allowing all the information to sink in before she continued.

"Anyway, a lot of the members started getting freaked out. They stopped attending meetings and eventually Aydan was the only one who would even talk to this guy anymore. The leader began making threats to the members who dropped out, saying he would hunt them down and kill them and their families, and so on. Aydan told the leader he couldn't take full part of it anymore, that he made up some story about his wife wanting to move and they couldn't attend meetings regularly. The guy was angry, but he didn't threaten to kill them or anything. Aydan said he was still a little freaked out and that he was going into hiding with his wife. He told us that the leader had made frequent mentions of killing famous Al Bhed that were, in his opinion, too sympathetic and friendly toward our oppressors."

"Cid," I said without thinking, "Cid would have been one of them."

The officer nodded. "Gippal is on the list as well, among many others. Aydan said he told us all of this because he wanted us to keep an eye out for any threats, however subtle, against the lives of these people. That was the last we heard of him."

"So you think this leader he was talking about... could he be Ian?" Paine asked, her eyebrow raised.

The officer nodded again. "It's very possible. We can't say for sure if it's true, but it would explain a lot."

"Like why he killed Aydan, of all people," Tidus added, his arm around Yuna. I noticed that Yuna had remained very silent throughout the ride, and her face was slightly paler than usual.

"And why he went after Cid. It still doesn't explain, though, why he decided to take Rei at the last minute," Paine added.

"Well, it's likely he had been present at the concert where he would have found out about Rikku and Rei's relationship to Gippal. He may have thought that this would be a good way to get to him... or maybe he wants something from us, and he'll use her for ransom. It's hard to determine at this point," Gann said, "in any case, we should know at least a little more after visiting Aydan's home. I want everyone on this ship to know that we're visiting a crime scene. It's not going to be pretty, and I understand if you want to wait outside," Gann glanced at me and Gippal, and we both shook our heads. As much as it would hurt, I needed to see that house.

The rest of the way was filled with more silence as everyone became absorbed in their own thoughts. I asked Yuna at least three times if she felt okay, and she just nodded her head. I didn't believe her, but I figured the ride combined with pregnancy was making her a little nauseous.

We arrived after what felt like the longest ride of my life. It was night now, and we attracted quite a few stares from the locals, who were all out of their homes and observing commotion. There were many airships surrounding the island, and there was crowd of law enforcement surrounding a small hut wrapped in crime scene tape and lit up with lights. As we approached it, I noticed a group of curious children being shooed away by an officer. A few other citizens looked on from a distance, obviously curious as well. Events of this nature did not happen every day in this tiny community, after all.

When we reached the hut I could see that a lot of the investigative work was winding down. An officer greeted Gann and they spoke in private, leaving the rest of us to wander. We were let right through the tape, and I noticed an older woman speaking to an officer. She looked over at us and sighed.

"You must be the girl's family. They told me who they thought the little girl was, you know. I am very sorry."

I faked a smile. "Thanks. I'm sorry about your neighbors. Um, can you tell us what happened?"

"Aydan and Kaila were such a pleasant young couple, very much in love. They were to be married in a few weeks, right over there on the beach. They talked to me often, and I helped make Kaila's dress. I finished it only two days ago, Kaila was supposed to visit me and make the final adjustments on it today. Such a tragedy, what happened. Who would do such a thing? I know they were Al Bhed, but..."

"That is what we need your help on, ma'am. If you can tell us what happened, we might be able to figure out where he's going and find him."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Anyway, I was sitting in my home, taking a nap when I heard some yelling. At first I thought it was some noisy children, my hearing is not that great in my age, but it grew louder and I heard a scream coming from their home. I looked out my window and did not see anything out of the ordinary, and I was about to go to the house when I saw a man I did not recognize come out the back door. He was followed by a young woman who was holding on to a little girl, Al Bhed by the looks of it. They argued for a minute before disappearing and then coming out of the front. They walked down the dock and got in a ship. After they left I went over to the house to check on them, and... and I found Aydan and Kaila."

We all stood silent for a moment, letting it all sink in. I barely noticed Gippal's hand slip through mine, and Paine motioned for us to follow her at the entrance to the house. I figured I was ready, despite Gann's warning. I had been to a crime scene before, and it while this was tragic, the previous one had been more personal.

Spira, was I wrong.

The home was small, and the two figures covered in white sheets were sprawled a few feet from each other. Furniture was knocked over, and puddles of blood covered the floor. There was so much of it, and I was afraid to step in it. Feeling slightly nauseous, I walked over to the desk where Paine was flipping through a photo album. I looked over her shoulder to see various pictures of the couple, and it pained me to note that they did indeed look very happy and in love. One of the pictures in particular caught my eye, and Paine grabbed my arm when she saw it.

A tall man, whom I assumed to be Aydan from the previous pictures, was standing in front of an airship with a man who looked very much like Ian. He appeared in several other pictures standing amidst a group, and I could only assume that Ian, Aydan, and the mystery group were all connected in some way.

I was suddenly overcome with a strong urge to leave the house. I could feel Gippal's gaze on me when I left, and I didn't stop walking when I went back out into the chilly night air. I noticed Yuna and Tidus sitting on the edge of a dock, and I sat down next to them. Tidus had his arm wrapped around his wife, and Yuna still looked a little pale.

"Are you okay, Yuna? You don't look so good," I put my hand on hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm fine, just a little sick from the ride. I think I'm stressing out a little too much. I just need to relax for a while, is all." She turned her head to look at me in concern. "How are you holding up, Rikku?"

"Fine, all things considered. I think we're getting closer, though."

"But doesn't it bother you... what he did to those people?"

I paused a moment before answering. Of course it bothered me, but I was trying really hard not to think about it. "Yes, it does. But the lady who saw them didn't say anything about Rei appearing hurt or anything. We are getting closer. We'll find her soon. She has to be here to greet her little baby cousin into the world, after all," I patted Yuna's large stomach and gave her a small smile, trying to calm her fears a little. Yuna being stressed out would definitely not be good for that baby, and I'd be damned if something happened to either of them because of all of this.

Yuna looked at me thoughtfully. "How do you do it, Rikku?"

I stared at her, surprised. "Do what?"

"Stay so optimistic all the time. No matter what happens... you're always so happy. We could be staring the end of the world in the face and you could make us laugh. You've always been so positive about everything, you know?"

I gave her a small smile. "Not always."

"Well, I think so. And it's part of the many reasons why we love you, Gippal especially. "

"You think?" I grinned.

"Yes, I do." Yuna squeezed my hand and grinned back.

The night was getting late, and several people in the town offered to share their homes with us so we could finish in the morning. We gladly accepted, and soon I found myself curled up on a cot with Gippal. While I really did not want to sleep and thought I couldn't even if I tried, I settled in anyway. It just didn't seem fair to try and rest when my little girl was still out there Would she be sleeping tonight, wherever she was? Was she being treated well? The emotional and physical toll of the search finally took over, and I found myself unwillingly drifting off into a deep sleep.

I was startled awake the next morning by a tall figure hovering over my bed. I gasped and grabbed Gippal's arm, waking him, but relaxed once my tired eyes finally focused and I knew who it was.

"Um... excuse me. I hate to intrude, but something big just came up. A villager came out of the woods and said something about having seen a large airship parked on the other side of the island, about twenty minutes ago. It matches the description of the one Ian took off in earlier."

"You mean... he's back? He's here?" Gippal asked, sleep still evident in his voice.

"We believe so. We're going to search for him now."

That was all the convincing we needed to get out of bed. It seemed like mere seconds before we were outside on the dock again, waiting in the late morning sunlight for the others to emerge. Before long, Tidus, Yuna, Paine, Gippal and I were heading off into the woods with a group of officers. Gann had warned us to all be on our guard, but don't get our hopes up. Despite that, I could not help be excited at the possibility that this would be over soon, and my little girl would be back. I squeezed Gippal's hand tightly as we navigated the trail.

We walked for several minutes before a villager came running up to us, breathless. "I saw them, toward the southeast end of the woods. The man saw me and darted off toward the shore, and there was a lady holding a little girl that ran off the other way. The man was armed so I didn't dare chase him."

Gann looked at him, astonished. "Thank you, sir." He turned around toward the group and began yelling commands for the officers to follow. Yuna, Gippal, Paine and I were to go with two officers and go after the woman and Rei, while the other officers were going after Ian. Tidus decided to follow the officers, and he gave Yuna a long kiss before he quickly left.

The pace of the search definitely intensified. I found myself wishing Yuna had stayed behind in Kilika, because she was growing noticeably paler and her breathing grew much louder. If we were not so far into the woods already, I would have demanded that she go back and rest. Now, however, she would just get lost. I found I could do nothing but hold her hand and give her words of encouragement, and we continued walking for what must have been at least a mile before she stopped completely and gasped.

Startled, I turned around to face her. Yuna was clutching onto her stomach, her eyes wide and mouth open in surprise.

"Yuna? Yuna, you're scaring me," everyone else stopped after that, turning around to look.

When she said nothing, I walked over to her and grabbed her arm before her knees buckled and I guided her gently to the dirty ground. She stared at me with large eyes, her breathing very loud and quick.

"I think... I think my water... my water broke."

"Your... oh Spira. Yuna, you're early. Too early... you didn't... are you sure?"

Yuna rolled her eyes at me, still breathing much too quickly. "I think the evidence... speaks for itself," she said, pointing her head to a puddle about a foot away from where we stood.

So there we were, lord knows how deep into the Kilika jungle, on the trail of the kidnapper of my daughter, and Yuna is in labor with no one around who knows how to deliver a baby.

This was _so_ not going to be a good day.


End file.
